Origins & Early Life

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, a feat dubbed the "EGOT". He and composer Richard Rodgers are the only people to have won those prizes and a Pulitzer Prize ("PEGOT"). Hamlisch was born in Manhattan, to Viennese-born Jewish parents Lilly (née Schachter) and Max Hamlisch.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

His father was an accordionist and bandleader. Hamlisch was a child prodigy; by age five, he began mimicking the piano music he heard on the radio. A few months before he turned seven, in 1951, he was accepted into what is now the Juilliard School Pre-College Division. His favorite musicals growing up were My Fair Lady, Gypsy, West Side Story, and Bye Bye Birdie. Hamlisch attended Queens College, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

His first job was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. Even on tour he would take time to book Kenny Veenstra's Progressive Music Studio to send musical ideas back to "Babs" in New York. Shortly afterward, producer Sam Spiegel hired him to play piano at parties, and later to score Spiegel...

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