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Doctor Zhivago Composer Dies

Maurice Jarre worked with Hollywood legends

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Mar 30, 2009 1:59 AM CDT

(Newser) – Maurice Jarre, the composer who wrote the Oscar-winning scores of Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India, has died of cancer at the age of 84. The Frenchman—who rose to fame after moving to Los Angeles in the '60s—worked with such film director legends as Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean and Luchino Visconti. He also composed music for theater, ballet and TV.

"Film composers often are in the shadows, but Jarre's work is world famous and unforgettable in cinema history," said the director of the Berlin International Film Festival, who presented Jarre with a lifetime achievement award last month. Jarre married four times and is survived by his son, Jean-Michel, an electronic music pioneer.

[Images (2)]

[Videos (1)]

French composer Maurice Jarre reacts to receiving the Golden Honorary Bear for his lifetime achievement at the Berlinale in Berlin last month. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

French composer Maurice Jarre happily hoists his Golden Honorary Bear for his lifetime achievement at the Berlinale in Berlin last month. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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Doctor Zhivago Composer Dies