André Previn, a German-American, Oscar-winning musician and composer who worked on the music for 1965’s Best Picture winner “My Fair Lady,” has died, his manager told the New York Times. He was 89.
Previn died on Thursday in his home in Manhattan. In addition to “Gigi,” he also won Oscars for “Porgy & Bess,” “Irma la Douce” and “My Fair Lady.” Previn was also the only person in Oscar history to ever be nominated for three Oscars in a single year: In 1961, he was nominated for the film score adaptations of “Elmer Gantry” and “Bells Are Ringing,” and also for Best Original Song for “Faraway Part of Town” from the film “Pepe.”
Some of his other film work, primarily film adaptations of Broadway productions, include “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” though he also worked on “It’s Always Fair Weather” from the also-recently-deceased Stanley Donen.
Previn’s manager did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Beyond his work scoring films, Previn was well known as a jazz pianist and conductor, collaborating with Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and his fifth wife, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. He’s also two 10 Grammy awards and one Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy, and served as the Principal Conductor and Conductor Emeritus for the London Symphony Orchestra.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the death this morning of our Conductor Emeritus André Previn,” the London Symphony Orchestra said in a statement on Twitter along with a tribute. “He will be hugely missed by everyone at the LSO and remembered with great affection. May he always play all the right notes in the right order.”
Born Andreas Ludwig Priwin in Berlin, Germany, Previn’s hip lifestyle and celebrity in the late ’60s made him a favorite of gossip columnists and paparazzi. Consequently, his fame helped to spread the popularity of classical music and jazz to a wider audience.
Previn was married five times and had 10 children. In 1969, he began seeing Mia Farrow romantically shortly after her split from Frank Sinatra. She became his third wife a year later, and they had three biological children together and adopted three others, including Soon-Yi Previn. Previn disowned his daughter Soon-Yi after she began a relationship and later married filmmaker Woody Allen, telling Vanity Fair in 2013, “She does not exist.”
“See you in the Morning beloved friend,” Farrow wrote on Twitter Thursday after learning of his death. “May you rest in glorious symphonies.”
In 1996, Previn was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. Twenty years later, Previn won the Glenn Gould Prize for “the musical excellence of a rare few.”
“Maestro Previn’s remarkable body of work and wide range of talents certainly make him a member of this exclusive club,” the foundation’s president Merle Kriss said at the time via Previn’s website.
We are deeply saddened to hear of the death this morning of our Conductor Emeritus André Previn. He will be hugely missed by everyone at the LSO and remembered with great affection. May he always play all the right notes in the right order. Tribute: https://t.co/GJ4OG9aoIj pic.twitter.com/ybK4dKBuoS
— London Symphony Orchestra (@londonsymphony) February 28, 2019
See you in the Morning beloved Friend. May you rest in glorious symphonies pic.twitter.com/r546GFcsyV
— Mia Farrow 🏳️🌈 🌻🇺🇸💙 (@MiaFarrow) February 28, 2019