Nino Rota

Born in Milan to a family of musicians, Rota was recognized early on as a child prodigy. He composed his first oratorio at the age of 11, a three act lyrical comedy at 13, and by 19 had graduated from Saint Cecelia Academy in Rome with a degree in composition. After a brief stay in the United States, Rota returned to his native country in 1932, having earned a degree in literature from the University of Milan in 1937, before beginning his career as a film composer in the early '40s. Having worked steadily throughout the decade, by the late '40s Rota entered an unparalleled period of productivity that would see him compose upwards of 10 film scores a year for the next three decades. In 1952 Rota scored his first film for the legendary Italian director, Federico Fellini, called "The White Sheik," and thus embarked on a long collaboration with the director. Over the ensuing decades, Rota scored several of Fellini's most celebrated works, most notably the surreal "8 1/2" (1963) and the fanciful "Juliet of the Spirits" (1965). Film directors from all over the world also took note; throughout his career Rota scored the films of Renato Castellani, Luchino Visconti, Franco Zeffirelli, King Vidor, Rene Clement and Edward Dmytrik, among several other notable international directors. Rota's most memorable films scores, however, were for "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather: Part II" (1974), the latter of which earned him his first and only Oscar for Best Original Score. Nino Rota died in 1979 from heart failure but his legacy and influence continue to be felt in the work of contemporary film composers.