Randy Newman
Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer and conductor known for his non-rhotic Southern-accented, if not, African-American accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and various film scores.[5] His hits as a recording artist include "Short People" (1977), "I Love L.A." (1983), and "You've Got a Friend in Me" (1995) with Lyle Lovett, while other artists have enjoyed success with cover versions of his "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (1966), "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (1968) and "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1972).
For his self-titled album, see Randy Newman (album). For the boxer, see Randy Neumann.
Randy Newman
- Singer
- songwriter
- arranger
- pianist
- composer
- conductor
1961–present
-
Roswitha Schmale(m. 1967; div. 1985)
-
Gretchen Preece(m. 1990)
5, including Eric
- Irving George Newman (father)
- Adele "Dixie", née Fuchs/Fox (mother)
- David Newman (cousin)
- Thomas Newman (cousin)
- Maria Newman (cousin)
- Joey Newman (cousin)
- Lionel Newman (uncle)
- Emil Newman (uncle)
- Alfred Newman (uncle)
- Vocals
- piano
Born in Los Angeles to an extended family of Hollywood film composers,[6] Newman began his songwriting career at the age of 17, penning hits for acts such as the Fleetwoods, Cilla Black, Gene Pitney, and the Alan Price Set. In 1968, he made his formal debut as a solo artist with the album Randy Newman, produced by Lenny Waronker and Van Dyke Parks. Four of Newman's non-soundtrack albums have charted in the US top 40: Sail Away (1972), Good Old Boys (1974), Little Criminals (1977), and Harps and Angels (2008).
Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. He has scored nine Disney-Pixar animated films, including all four Toy Story films (1995–2019), A Bug's Life (1998), both Monsters, Inc. films (2001, 2013), and the first and third Cars films (2006, 2017), as well as Disney's James and the Giant Peach (1996) and The Princess and the Frog (2009). His other film scores include Cold Turkey (1971), Ragtime (1981), The Natural (1984), Awakenings (1990), Cats Don't Dance (1997), Pleasantville (1998), Meet the Parents (2000), Seabiscuit (2003), and Marriage Story (2019).
Newman has received twenty-two Academy Award nominations in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories and has won twice in the latter category, contributing to the Newmans being the most nominated Academy Award extended family, with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories. He has also won three Emmys, seven Grammy Awards and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy.[7] In 2007, he was recognized by the Walt Disney Company as a Disney Legend.[8] He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.[9]
Early life and education[edit]
Newman was born to a Jewish family on November 28, 1943, his father's 30th birthday,[10] in Los Angeles. He is the son of Adele "Dixie" (née Fuchs/Fox; August 30, 1916 – October 4, 1988), a secretary, and Irving George Newman (November 28, 1913 – February 1, 1990), an internist.[11] He lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, as a small child and spent summers there until he was 11 years old, when his family returned to Los Angeles. The paternal side of his family includes grandparents Luba (née Koskoff) (July 21, 1883 – March 3, 1954) and Michael Newman (Nemorofsky) (1874–1948), and three uncles who were Hollywood film-score composers: Alfred Newman, Lionel Newman, and Emil Newman.[12] Newman's cousins, Thomas, Maria, David, and Joey, are also composers for motion pictures. He graduated from University High School in Los Angeles. He studied music at the University of California, Los Angeles, but dropped out one semester shy of a B.A.[13] In June 2021, he finally completed his degree at UCLA.[14]
Newman's parents were non-observant Jews: Newman himself is an atheist.[15] He has said that religion or any sense of religious identity was completely absent in his childhood. To illustrate this, he has often recounted in interviews an antisemitic incident that occurred when he was young: he was invited by a classmate to be her date to a cotillion at her Los Angeles country club, the Riviera Country Club.[15] He accepted the invitation but was subsequently disinvited by the girl's father, who told Newman that his daughter should never have invited him because Jews were not allowed at the club. Newman hung up the phone, then went to ask his own father what a "Jew" was.[15][16][17]
Personal life[edit]
Newman was married to German-born Roswitha Schmale from 1967 to 1985, and they had three sons,[41] Eric, Amos, and John.[42] He has been married to Gretchen Preece since 1990, with whom he has two children, Patrick and Alice. Gretchen's father is director Michael Preece.[43]
Newman endorsed Democratic President Barack Obama for reelection in 2012 and wrote a satirical song about voting for white candidates.[44]