Composers themselves have made cameos in many films. They typically range from conductor to musician. There are a few instances of the composer appearing as themselves or in a speaking role.
Here is my compiled list of some nice composer cameos.
JOHN BARRY
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| Barry conducts in Deadfall (1968) |
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| John Barry in The Living Daylights (1987) |
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| Daft Punk in Tron: Legacy (2010) |
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| Danny Elfman as the Devil in Forbidden Zone (1982) |
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| Danny Elfman in The Gift (2000) |
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| Michael Giacchino in an episode of Undercovers (2010) |
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| Jerry Goldsmith at the piano in In Harm's Way (1965) |
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| Goldsmith (man in hat) and Steven Spielberg in front in Gremlins (1984) |
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| Jerry Goldsmith speaks in Gremlins 2 (1990) |
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| Bernard Herrmann conducts in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) |
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| James Horner passes by the camera (right) in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982) |
QUINCY JONES
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| Quincy Jones referenced by Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) |
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| Henry Mancini hands the baton to the Pink Panther in Son of the Pink Panther (1993) |
ALFRED NEWMAN
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| Alfred Newman conducts Jascha Heifetz in They Shall Have Music (1939) |
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| Alfred Newman conducts in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) |
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| David Newman (center) in The Runestone (1991) |
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| Rozsa conducts in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) |
LALO SCHIFRIN
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| Lalo Shifrin conducts in Red Dragon (2002) |
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Marc Shaiman (R) with composer Glen Roven in Broadcast News (1987)
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| Howard Shore (left) in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Extended Edition) |
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| Howard Shore conducts in King Kong (2005) |
JOHN WILLIAMS
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| John Williams (left) plays piano in an episode of Johnny Staccato (1959) |
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| Christopher Young (left) in Spider-man 3 (2007) |
Any other composer cameos you know about that didn't make the list?
18 Comments
Patrick Doyle appears in "Henry V" (his film debut in every sense, as it was the first film he scored) and "Dead Again."
ReplyDeleteWow
DeleteTrue, Patrick Doyle is a true exception. He started as an actor with Kenneth Branagh and appeared in tons of his films in bit parts.
ReplyDeleteHarry Gregson-Williams voices a squirrel in Prince Caspian. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteWow! I am blown away by how amazing this blog is! I just stumbled on this. I shared it on my film score composer facebook page! Definitely going to link to your blog often!:) If you are curious to check out my page it's at: http://www.facebook.com/filmscorecrazy
ReplyDeletePhilip Glass has a cameo in The Truman Show during the Truman Sleeps segment.
ReplyDeleteAgain he has a cameo in No Reservations where he's sitting at a cafe at the end of the movie.
Angelo Badalamenti in Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, Clint Mansell in Pi
ReplyDeleteAlbert Glasser has a cameo in the opening sequence of Lippert's GRAND CANYON (1949).
ReplyDeleteHi! What a wonderful post! I've found Christopher Young eating a muffin at the very beginning of the movie "Drag Me To Hell", and Marc Shaiman disguised as a red-haired orchestra conductor in "The Addams Family".
ReplyDeleteWill you update this post? I'll be tuned :D
Thanks for all the pics!
Elmer Bernstein plays the piano in 'From Noon Til Three' and I believe (although I cannot confirm) John Williams makes a brief appearance at the end of 'Sleepers'.
ReplyDeleteMichael Giacchino has a nice cameo in the recent "Tomorrowland". Even a few lines! :D
ReplyDeleteAnd in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" as a Stormtrooper!
DeleteAlexandre Desplat in an actual supporting role in "The Monuments Men."
ReplyDeleteI guess Henry Mancini was an amazing composer and he had cameos from the movies.
ReplyDeleteThe late film composer Robert O. Ragland had a cameo in "Grizzly" as a ranger which he did the score for that film with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of London; he also had a cameo in "The Day of the Locust".
ReplyDeleteAfter scoring all nine of the Star Wars films, John Williams had a cameo in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
ReplyDeleteThat was a fantastic cameo! I'll include that in my next installment of Composer Cameos!
DeleteI think Howard Shore had a cameo in the movie "King Kong" and the music of the film "King Kong" was composed by James Newton Howard.
ReplyDelete