Prolific French composer Michel Legrand, who won three Oscars and five Grammys during a career spanning more than half a century, died aged 86 on Saturday, prompting an outpouring of tributes for his "inexhaustible genius". Legrand's music spanned a wide range of styles and genres, and he composed for more than 200 film and TV productions and was associated with over 100 albums.
"Since I was a child, my ambition has been to live completely surrounded by music, my dream was to not miss anything, which is why I have never focused on a single musical discipline," he once said. He first won an Academy Award in 1969 for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" from Norman Jewison's hit thriller "The Thomas Crown Affair".
He followed that with Oscars for his music for "Summer of '42" in 1972 and for "Yentl" in 1984. Legrand, who had been scheduled to stage concerts in Paris in April, died at his home in the French capital early Saturday with his wife, the actress Macha Meril, at his side, his spokesman told AFP. French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the "inexhaustible genius" of Legrand, whose "inimitable tunes" became "the soundtrack of our lives".
Born on February 24, 1932, into a musical family near Paris, Legrand started out by playing on the piano songs he had heard on the radio. His father Raymond Legrand was himself a composer, and although he left the family home when his son was aged only three he was later to help him launch his career.
His mother, of Armenian origin, enrolled him at the Paris Conservatory from age 10. He was to spend seven years there, before graduating with top honours in 1949. Legrand was married three times. With his first wife, Christine Bouchard, he had three children.