Oscar-winning lyricist Norman Gimbel has died, aged 91, at his home in California, his family has said.
His death was confirmed by BMI, which paid tribute on its website, noting: “BMI was greatly saddened to learn of the passing of renowned songwriter Norman Gimbel, a truly prolific and gifted writer who will be greatly missed by his many friends and fans here.”
The Brooklyn-born musician wrote the words to both “The Girl from Ipanema” – one of the most covered songs of all time – and the Happy Days theme. He won an Academy Award with David Shire for Jennifer Warnes’ “It Goes Like It Goes" for Best Original Song, from 1979’s Norma Rae – the film that also won Sally Field her first of two Best Actress Oscars.
Gimbel formed a long-term collaboration with composer Charles Fox, and the two of them wrote "Killing Me Softly" after singer Lori Lieberman told Gimbel about the strong feelings she experienced listening to a Don McLean song. The chart-topper was covered years later by the Fugees in a hip-hop version.
In their 30-year partnership, Gimbel and Fox wrote more than 150 songs together, earning futher Oscar nominations for Olivia Newton-John’s “Richard’s Window” (from 1975’s The Other Side of the Mountain) and Barry Manilow’s “Ready to Take a Chance Again” (from 1978’s comedy Foul Play).
Born in Brooklyn on 16 November, 1927, Gimbel worked for music publishers David Blum and Edwin H Morris, where he wrote the words to Andy Williams’ 1956 chart-topper, “Canadian Sunset”, among others.
When he moved to the west coast in 1967, he worked with composers including Lalo Shifrin, Elmer Bernstein, Bill Conti, Quincy Jones, Burt Bachrach and his daughter, Nelly Gimbel.
His songs were heard in films like The Phantom Tollbooth (1970), A Troll in Central Park (1994) and Disney's Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp’s Adventure (2001). In 1984, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Gimbel is survived by his sons Tony and Peter and daughters Nelly and Hannah. Tony has overseen his father’s Normans Music Publishing Co. (now Words West LLC) for the past 25 years.
