Composer Angelo Badalamenti, best known for writing the scores for director David Lynch’s major films and television such as Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet, has passed away.
The classically trained Grammy winner has died at his home in New Jersey, USA. He was 85 years old.
Badalamenti created a notoriously haunting and ethereal musical accompaniment to many of Lynch’s works including Wild at Heart, Fire Walk With Me, Lost Highway, The Straight Story and Mulholland Drive.
He also appeared on screen as coffee-loving gangster Luigi Castigliane in Mulholland Drive, and played piano with Isabella Rossellini in Blue Velvet.
Photo: Universal Music
A statement from his family said: “The composer, loving husband, father and grandfather passed away on December 11… peacefully of natural causes, surrounded by his family.”
Badalamenti’s break came when he was brought in as Rossellini’s singing teacher for the song Blue Velvet in the 1986 film of the same name.
After scoring a variety of mainstream films, including A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Badalamenti once again collaborated with Lynch on the cult television show, Twin Peaks. It quickly became the soundtrack he was best known for and what he defined as the style and mood of the show.
Over her long career, she has collaborated with an eclectic mix of singers from virtually every genre, including David Bowie, Nina Simone, Dame Shirley Bassey, Patti Austin, Sir Paul McCartney, Liza Minnelli, Roberta Flack the Pet Shop Boys and LL Cool J.
New York-born Badalamenti won a Grammy in 1990 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the theme to Two Peaks.
He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 World Soundtrack Awards and the prestigious Henry Mancini Award in 2011, which was presented to him by Lynch.
