Beloved American composer Angelo Badalamenti has died at the age of 85, his family confirmed in a statement.
The composer reportedly died of natural causes on Sunday, December 11, surrounded by loved ones in his own home.
Badalamenti is most famous for his contributions to the work of art house auteur David Lynch, providing the score and acting as music supervisor for his 1986 cult classic Blue Velvet starring Kyle MacLachlan and Isabella Rossellini.
In 1990 the two reunited for their second major collaboration, with Badalamenti composing the iconic, strangely ethereal title theme for Lynch’s acclaimed television series Twin Peaks.
“He’s got this musical soul, and melodies are always floating around inside,” Lynch told People Magazine in 1990.
“I feel the mood of a scene in the music, and one thing helps the other, and they both just start climbing.”
Badalamenti won a Grammy, and was nominated for two Emmy awards for the Twin Peaks soundtrack, and went on to contribute his musical prowess to many more Lynch works, including Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, The Straight Story, Mulholland Drive and Rabbits.
Outside of his Lynch collaborations, Badalamenti also composed music for famous mainstream cinematic outings including A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1937 to parents John and Leonora, fish market owners of Italian descent.
A piano and French horn virtuoso, he graduated from the Manhattan school of music in 1960 before going on to land a job at a music publishing company.
Outside of his lauded work in film and TV, Badalamenti’s career as a songwriter saw him pen tracks under the pseudonym ‘Andy Badale’ for household names of the likes of Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey and the Pet Shop Boys.
