Michel Jean Legrand (24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written more than 200 film and television scores, in addition to many songs. His scores for two of the films of French New Wave director Jacques Demy, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), earned Legrand his first Academy Award nominations. Legrand won his first Oscar for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and additional Oscars for Summer of '42 (1971) and Barbra Streisand's Yentl (1983). Legrand was born in Paris, France, to his father, Raymond Legrand, who was himself a conductor and composer, and his mother, Marcelle Der-Mikaëlian, who was the sister of conductor Jacques Hélian. Raymond and Marcelle were married in 1929. His maternal grandfather was Armenian. Legrand composed more than two hundred film and television scores. He won three Oscars and five Grammys. He studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris from the age of 11, working with, among others, Nadia Boulanger and graduated with top honors as both a composer and a pianist. He burst upon the international music scene at 22 when his 1954 album I Love Paris became a surprise hit. He established his name in the United States by working with such jazz stars as Miles Davis and Stan Getz. His sister Christiane Legrand was a member of The Swingle Singers and his niece Victoria Legrand is a member of the dream pop band Beach House. Legrand composed music for Jacques Demy's films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) (from which Recit de Cassard came and in turn, in English became the standard Watch What Happens) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), from which the relyricized "You Must Believe in Spring" is considered a jazz standard. Legrand appeared and performed in Agnès Varda's Cléo from 5 to 7 (1961). He also composed music for Joseph Losey's Eva (1962), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) (which features "The Windmills of Your Mind"), Ice Station Zebra (1968), The Picasso Summer (1969), The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (1970), The Go-Between (1971), Summer of '42 (1971), Clint Eastwood's Breezy (1973), The Three Musketeers (1973), Orson Welles's last-completed film F for Fake (1974), TriStar Pictures 1998 family film Madeline, and would later compose the score for Welles's posthumously released movie The Other Side of the Wind (2018). He also composed the score for Yentl (1983), as well as the film score for Louis Malle's film Atlantic City (1980). His instrumental version of the theme from Brian's Song charted 56th in 1972 on the Billboard's pop chart. Legrand died of sepsis, during the night of 25–26 January 2019, at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks for a pulmonary infection. His funeral was held in Paris at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on 1 February 2019. He was interred at the Père Lachaise Cemetery. He remained active until his death and had concerts scheduled to take place in the spring. ... Source: Article "Michel Legrand" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Filmography

• 2024Jacques Demy: The Pink and the Black
• 2023May December — Music
• 2022Le cinéma de Michel Legrand — Original Music Composer
• 2022Michel Legrand, enchanted music — Original Music Composer, Author, Compositor
• 2022Michel Legrand, la musique enchantée — Original Music Composer
• 2018I Lost Albert — Original Music Composer
• 2018The Other Side of the Wind — Original Music Composer
• 2017The Guardians — Original Music Composer
• 2015Les Parapluies de Cherbourg — Music Director, Author
• 2015The Price of Fame — Original Music Composer
• 2011Michel Legrand and the Cinema — Musician
• 2009Oscar and the Lady in Pink — Original Music Composer
• 2008Disco — Original Music Composer
• Once Upon a Time... Planet Earth — Original Music Composer
• 2006Deadly Lessons — Original Music Composer
• 2005Cavalcade — Original Music Composer
• 2004The Young Girls of Rochefort — Music Arranger
• 2003Amber Wings — Original Music Composer
• 2002And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen... — Original Music Composer
• 1999Season's Beatings — Original Music Composer
• 1998Madeline — Original Music Composer
• Once Upon a Time... The Explorers — Original Music Composer
• 1996The Ring — Original Music Composer
• 1995Les Miserables — Original Music Composer
• 1995The Real Shlemiel — Original Music Composer
• 1995The World of Jacques Demy — Self, Original Music Composer
• Once Upon a Time... The Discoverers — Original Music Composer
• 1994Prêt-à-Porter — Original Music Composer
• 1993The Pickle — Original Music Composer
• 1993The Young Girls Turn 25 — Self, Original Music Composer
• Love at First Sight — Director
• Once Upon a Time... The Americas — Original Music Composer
• 1991Dingo — Original Music Composer
• 1991Mountain of Diamonds — Original Music Composer
• 1990Carnaval — Main Title Theme Composer
• 1990Eternity — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 1990Flight from Paradise — Original Music Composer
• 1990Gaspard and Robinson — Original Music Composer
• 1990Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less — Original Music Composer
• 1989Five Days in June — Director, Writer
• 1989The Jeweller's Shop — Original Music Composer
• 1988Switching Channels — Original Music Composer
• 1988Three Seats for the 26th — Original Music Composer
• 1988Un coupable — Original Music Composer
• 1987Casanova — Original Music Composer
• Once Upon a Time... Life — Original Music Composer
• 1987Spiral — Original Music Composer
• 1986As Summers Die — Original Music Composer
• 1986You've Got Beautiful Stairs, You Know... — Original Music Composer
• 1985Going and Coming Back — Original Music Composer
• 1985Hell Train — Original Music Composer
• 1985Palace — Original Music Composer
• 1985Parking — Original Music Composer
• 1985Promises to Keep — Original Music Composer
• 1985Zoom the White Dolphin — Original Music Composer
• 1984Paroles et musique — Original Music Composer
• 1984Secret Places — Original Music Composer
• 1984The Jesse Owens Story — Original Music Composer
• 1983A Love in Germany — Original Music Composer
• 1983Never Say Never Again — Original Music Composer
• 1983Revenge of the Humanoids — Original Music Composer
• 1983Yentl — Original Music Composer, Songs
• 1982A Woman Called Golda — Original Music Composer
• 1982Bankers Also Have Souls — Original Music Composer
• 1982Best Friends — Music, Original Music Composer, Songs
• Once Upon a Time… Space — Original Music Composer
• 1982Slapstick of Another Kind — Original Music Composer
• 1982The Button — Original Music Composer
• 1981Bolero — Original Music Composer
• 1981Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid — Original Music Composer
• 1980Atlantic City — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 1980Falling in Love Again — Original Music Composer
• 1980The Hunter — Original Music Composer
• 1980The Mountain Men — Original Music Composer
• 1979Lady Oscar — Original Music Composer
• 1979The Fabulous Adventures of the Legendary Baron Munchausen — Original Music Composer
• Once Upon a Time… Man — Original Music Composer
• 1978One Can Say It Without Getting Angry — Original Music Composer
• 1978Roads to the South — Original Music Composer
• 1978The Phoenix — Original Music Composer
• 1977Gulliver's Travels — Original Music Composer
• 1977The Other Side of Midnight — Original Music Composer
• 1976Gable and Lombard — Original Music Composer
• 1976La Décharge — Original Music Composer
• 1976Ode to Billy Joe — Original Music Composer
• 1975Cage Without a Key — Original Music Composer
• 1975Lovers Like Us — Original Music Composer
• 1975Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York — Original Music Composer
• 1975The Smurfs and the Magic Flute — Original Music Composer
• 1974Give Me Liberty — Music
• 1974It's Good to Be Alive — Original Music Composer
• 1974Our Time — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 197340 Carats — Original Music Composer
• 1973A Doll's House — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 1973A Slightly Pregnant Man — Original Music Composer
• 1973Bequest to the Nation — Original Music Composer
• 1973Breezy — Original Music Composer
• 1973Cops and Robbers — Original Music Composer
• 1973F for Fake — Original Music Composer
• 1973Impossible Object — Original Music Composer
• Le Temps de vivre... Le Temps d'aimer — Original Music Composer
• 1973The Adventures Of Don Quixote — Original Music Composer
• 1973The Hostage Gang — Original Music Composer
• 1973The Three Musketeers — Original Music Composer
• 1972A Time for Loving — Grondin, Original Music Composer
• ABC Afterschool Special — Self, Book, Original Music Composer
• 1972Hearth Fires — Original Music Composer
• 1972La Vie sentimentale de Georges le tueur — Original Music Composer
• 1972Lady Sings the Blues — Original Music Composer
• 1972Not Dumb, the Bird — Original Music Composer
• 1972One Is a Lonely Number — Conductor, Original Music Composer
• 1972Portnoy's Complaint — Original Music Composer
• 1972The Old Maid — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 1972The Outside Man — Original Music Composer
• 1971A Little Sun in Cold Water — Original Music Composer
• 1971Brian's Song — Original Music Composer
• 1971Le Mans — Original Music Composer
• 1971Summer of '42 — Original Music Composer
• 1971The Go-Between — Original Music Composer
• 1971The Married Couple of the Year Two — Original Music Composer
• 1971Touch and Go — Original Music Composer
• 1970Donkey Skin — Original Music Composer, Songs
• 1970Pieces of Dreams — Original Music Composer, Songs
• 1970The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun — Original Music Composer
• 1970To Catch a Pebble — Original Music Composer
• 1970Wuthering Heights — Original Music Composer
• 1969Castle Keep — Conductor, Original Music Composer
• 1969Play Dirty — Conductor, Original Music Composer
• 1969The Happy Ending — Original Music Composer, Songs
• 1969The Picasso Summer — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 1969The Swimming Pool — Original Music Composer
• 1968A Hatful of Rain — Original Music Composer
• 1968How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life — Original Music Composer
• 1968Ice Station Zebra — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 1968Sweet November — Original Music Composer
• 1968The Man in the Buick — Music Director, Original Music Composer
• 1968The Thomas Crown Affair — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 19671999 A.D. — Original Music Composer
• 1967La Chinoise — Original Music Composer
• 1967Pretty Polly — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 1967The Oldest Profession — Original Music Composer
• 1967The Young Girls of Rochefort — Songs, Original Music Composer, Other, Music Director
• 1966A Matter of Resistance — Original Music Composer
• 1966Funny Money — Original Music Composer
• 1966L’Or et le plomb — Musician
• 1966The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean — Original Music Composer, Conductor
• 1966Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? — Original Music Composer
• 1965The Botanical Avatar of Mademoiselle Flora — Original Music Composer
• 1965The Spy Who Went Into Hell — Original Music Composer
• 1964Agent 38-24-36 — Original Music Composer
• 1964Band of Outsiders — Original Music Composer
• 1964From a Distant Gaze — Original Music Composer
• 1964Le Grand Escroc — Original Music Composer
• 1964The Lovers of the France — Original Music Composer
• 1964The Umbrellas of Cherbourg — Jean (singing voice) (uncredited), Original Music Composer, Conductor, Songs
• 1964The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers — Original Music Composer
• 1963Bay of Angels — Original Music Composer
• 1963Illuminations — Music
• 1963L'Amérique lunaire — Music
• 1963Love is a Ball — Original Music Composer
• 1963Maigret Sees Red — Original Music Composer
• 1963The Lovely Month of May — Original Music Composer
• 1962A Swelled Head — Original Music Composer
• 1962Cléo from 5 to 7 — Bob, the Pianist, Original Music Composer, Songs
• 1962Eva — Original Music Composer
• 1962Fiancés on the Bridge — Original Music Composer, Musician
• 1962L'Envie — Music
• 1962La Colère — Music
• 1962La Gourmandise — Sound
• 1962La Paresse — Original Music Composer
• 1962Lust — Original Music Composer
• 1962Playtime in Paris — Original Music Composer
• 1962The Gentleman from Epsom — Original Music Composer
• 1962The Seven Deadly Sins — Original Music Composer
• 1962Vivre Sa Vie — Original Music Composer
• 1961A Woman Is a Woman — Original Music Composer
• 1961It Means That Much to Me — Original Music Composer
• 1961Lola — Original Music Composer
• 1961Melancholia — Original Music Composer
• 1961The Counterfeiters of Paris — Original Music Composer
• 1960America as Seen by a Frenchman — Original Music Composer
• 1960Jack of Spades — Original Music Composer
• 1960The Door Slams — Original Music Composer
• 1960The French Game — Original Music Composer
• 1959Jours de mes années — Music
• 1958Sinners of Paris — Original Music Composer
• 1957The Tricyclist — Original Music Composer
• 1957Too Many Lovers — Conductor
• 1955Lovers' Net — Original Music Composer
• 1955Razzia — Music Director, Music Arranger
• 1955Visages de Paris — Original Music Composer
• 1952Her Last Christmas — Conductor (uncredited)

Appearances as themselves (40)

• 2025Quincy Jones, Music Man — Self (archive footage)
• 2024Once Upon a Time Michel Legrand — Self
• 2022Dans les pas de Jean-Paul Rappeneau — Self
• Il était une fois Champs-Élysées — Self (archive footage)
• 2021Françoise Dorléac, from The Man from Rio to The Young Girls of Rochefort — self
• 2021Hommage à Michel Legrand et Jacques Demy au festival Sœurs Jumelles — Self (archive footage)
• 2018A Final Cut for Orson: 40 Years in the Making — Self - Composer
• 2018Françoise Dorléac, une promesse — Self
• 2018La La La — Self - Music Composer
• 2018Michel Legrand, sans demi-mesure — Self
• 2011Love Lasts Three Years — Self
• 2008La chanson 'Lola' — Self
• 2008Once Upon a Time... The Umbrellas of Cherbourg — Self
• 2008The Beaches of Agnès — Self (archive footage)
• 2007Callas Assoluta — Self (archive footage)
• 2006Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer — Self
• Parkinson — Self - Guest / Performer (archive footage)
• Un film et son époque — Self
• Vivement dimanche — Self
• Le monde est à vous — Self
• Nulle part ailleurs — Self
• Sacrée soirée — Self
• Victoires de la musique — Self
• Champs-Elysées — Self - Main Guest
• 30 millions d'amis — Self
• Cérémonie des César — Self - Presenter, Self - Host
• 1975Ann-Margret Smith — Self
• Les Rendez-vous du dimanche — Self
• Numéro un — Self
• Système 2 — Self
• Spécial cinéma — Self
• Le Grand Échiquier — Self, Self - Main Guest
• Samedi soir — Self
• Behind the Screen — Self
• 1966Behind the screens : Les demoiselles de Rochefort — Self
• The Danny Kaye Show — Self
• Discorama — Self
• Cinépanorama — Self
• Tony Awards — Self - Nominee
• The Oscars — Self