Johnny Mandel obit

Johnny Mandel, Composer Who Wrote ‘MASH’ Theme Song, Dies at 94

He was not on the list.

Johnny Mandel, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning songwriter of “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Emily” and the theme from “M*A*S*H,” has died. He was 94.

“If Johnny Mandel had just composed ‘The Shadow of Your Smile’ – one of the most beautiful songs I have been honored to record – it would have been enough to earn his standing as one of the finest composers of our time,” Tony Bennett wrote on Twitter, including a portrait of Mandel he painted himself.

Mandel was considered one of the finest arrangers of the second half of the 20th century, providing elegant orchestral charts for a wide range of vocalists including Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole and Hoagy Carmichael.

Mandel scored more than 30 films during his Hollywood career, including the 1960s films “The Americanization of Emily” (from which the hit song “Emily” emerged), “The Sandpiper” (which contained “The Shadow of Your Smile,” earning an Oscar and a Grammy for Song of the Year along with lyricist Paul Francis Webster), “Harper,” “An American Dream” (which included the Oscar-nominated song “A Time for Love”), “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” and “Point Blank.”

“I was so sad to learn that a hero of mine, Johnny Mandel, passed away,” wrote Michael Buble on Twitter. “He was a genius and one of my favorite writers, arrangers, and personalities. He was a beast.”

Filmography

Johnny Mandel composed and/or arranged music for the following motion pictures or television programs:

1958: I Want to Live!
1960: The 3rd Voice
1961: The Lawbreakers
1963: Drums of Africa
1964: The Americanization of Emily
1965: The Sandpiper
1965: Mister Roberts (TV series; 1 episode)
1966: Harper
1966: The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
1966: Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (TV series; 2 episodes)
1967: Point Blank
1968: Pretty Poison
1969: Heaven with a Gun
1969: That Cold Day in the Park
1969: Some Kind of a Nut
1970: M*A*S*H
1970: The Man Who Had Power Over Women
1972: M*A*S*H (TV series; 12 episodes)
1972: Journey Through Rosebud
1972: Molly and Lawless John
1973: The Last Detail
1973: Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
1974: W
1975: Escape to Witch Mountain
1976: Freaky Friday
1976: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
1979: Agatha
1979: Being There
1979: The Baltimore Bullet
1980: Too Close for Comfort (TV series; 2 episodes)
1980: Caddyshack
1982: Deathtrap
1982: Lookin' to Get Out
1982: The Verdict
1986: Amazing Stories (TV series; 1 episode)
1989: Brenda Starr