John Debney

John C. Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American film composer. He received an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. He also composed the score for Cutthroat Island, which has been celebrated by music critics as a notable example of swashbuckling film music and overall as one of the best film scores in history.^[1][2][3][4]

Life and career

The son of Disney Studios producer Louis Debney (Zorro, The Mickey Mouse Club), John was born and raised in nearby Glendale, California, where he began guitar lessons at age six and played in rock bands in college. Debney earned his B.A. degree in Music Composition from the California Institute of Arts in 1979. After college, Debney's professional entry into the business came from television composer Mike Post. Debney furthered his hands-on training by working with Hanna-Barbera composer Hoyt Curtin. After this, Debney went on to score television projects as diverse as Star Trek: The Next Generation, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Dink, the Little Dinosaur, and seaQuest DSV for which he won an Emmy for Best Main Title. In the early 1990s, Debney began to score indie films and Disneyland attractions. In 1991, Debney composed the music for Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris. In 1993, he scored his first studio feature, the Disney comedy Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler.

Debney has since gone on to have a career composing scores for many films including: The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, Elf, Sin City, Chicken Little, Liar Liar, Spy Kids, The Emperor's New Groove, The Scorpion King, and The Princess Diaries.

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

• John Debney at the Internet Movie Database
• John Debney's Official Website
• John Debney Tribute at Filmtracks.com