Movies - TV
Angelo Badalamenti, Composer For Blue Velvet And Twin Peaks, Has Died
By VALERIE ETTENHOFER
Grammy-winning composer Angelo Badalamenti, responsible for the scores of such beloved projects as “Twin Peaks,” “Mulholland Drive,” and “Blue Velvet,” has died of natural causes at the age of 85. Badalamenti has had a celebrated career, making his composing debut in 1973 for the film “Gordon’s War” and going on to contribute to over 90 films and TV shows.
The composer frequently collaborated with David Lynch over several decades, first as a vocal coach for “Blue Velvet” songstress Isabella Rossellini and, most recently, scoring the sequel season to “Twin Peaks” in 2017. The show’s theme — dubbed “Laura Palmer’s Theme” — has been noted by Esquire to have significantly influenced musicians like Lana Del Rey and Beach House.
Badalamenti has crafted memorable film scores, won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, earned the Henry Mancini Lifetime Achievement award, and even wrote the theme for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Before his passing was announced, Lynch chose not to recommend a song in his daily LA weather report, simply saying, “Today, no music.”