Lalo Schifrin

Lalo Schifrin was interviewed for one-and-a-half hours in Beverly Hills, CA.  Schifrin talked about his early musical influences and studies, including his years in Paris studying with noted composer Olivier Messiaen. He spoke about coming to the United States and working with famed jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie— joining his band and recording numerous LPs with him. He described his entrance into writing music for television, working under head of Universal’s TV music, Stanley Wilson. He commented on some of the early projects he worked on including the series Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre and the television movie See How They Run.  He looked back on the television series for which he is most associated, Mission: Impossible, for which he composed the now world-famous theme music, set against a lit fuse in the memorable opening titles.  Among the other series he discussed, for which he scored the theme and episodic music, were Mannix and Medical Center. He then described his compositions for several notable television documentaries including: The Making of the President—1964, The Hidden World of Insects, and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. For the later documentary, he recalled that the dramatic cantata he wrote was later performed at the Hollywood Bowl. He also spoke about his compositions outside of television, and acknowledged that a notable piece from his Cool Hand Luke score was later used as the Eyewitness News theme. The interview was conducted by Jon Burlingame on October 3, 2008.