Richard Bellis (born 3 April 1946 in Pasadena, California) is an American film and television music composer, former Composers and Lyricists Guild of America (CLGA) president,[1] former ATAS governor,[2] USC lecturer,[2] musical director and former actor.[3]
Bellis was a child actor and even auditioned to be a Mouseketeer.[3] Bellis attended John Muir High School from which he graduated in 1964.[2] Bellis became a musical director for traveling acts like Connie Stevens and Sally Struthers.[citation needed] Bellis has directed the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop for many years.[4][5]
Bellis has composed and arranged music for the Disney theme parks, starting with arranging music for the opening of the EPCOT Center.[3] He would continue working for EPCOT on projects like “Tomorrow’s Child”, Spaceship Earth, and the Imagination Pavilion.[3] He wrote music for the Star Tours ride and Indiana Jones Adventure Stunt show at Disney's Hollywood Studios.[3] He worked with Walt Disney Imagineering to write the music to the Disney's Animal Kingdom attraction "Countdown to Extinction" (which was changed to "Dinosaur").[citation needed]
Before writing the score for Stephen King's IT, Bellis had written scores for a number of tv movies.[6] However, when opportunities for composing dried up, he started a woodworking business with his wife.[6] They built rack mount cabinets and console surrounds for those he knew in the music industry, as well as kitchen cabinets and conference room tables.[6]
When writing for IT, he was inspired by Bernard Herrmann, particularly his use of motifs and ostinatos.[6] The sound track used circus and carnival music and features a calliope.[6]
IT was a 2-episode supernatural horror and dark fantasy television miniseries, released in 1990. When Emmy submissions came, they could only submit one episode and chose to submit the first.[6] As a result, he received both his first Emmy nomination and first win in for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)" in 1991.[7][6]
Works
- The Emerging Film Composer: An Introduction to the People, Problems, and Psychology of the Film Music Business, Feb 2, 2007. ISBN 978-0-615-13623-3[3]
Awards
- Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)
- Year: 1991
- Work: Stephen King's "It"
- Status: Winner[7]
- Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)
- Year: 1992
- Work: Doublecrossed
- Status: Nominee[7]
- Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)
- Year: 1994
- Work: Double, Double, Toil And Trouble
- Status: Nominee[7]
References
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