ELFMAN, Danny 1953–

(Dan Elfman)

PERSONAL

Full name, Daniel Robert Elfman; born May 29, 1953, in Amarillo, TX; raised in Los Angeles, CA; son of Milton (a teacher and in the Air Force) and Blossom (a teacher and writer; maiden name, Bernstein) Elfman; brother of Robert Elfman (a filmmaker); uncle of Bodhi Elfman (an actor); married (marriage ended); married Bridget Fonda (an actress), November 29, 2003; children: (first marriage) Lola, Mali; (second marriage) one.

Addresses: Agent—International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Manager—Kraft–Engel Management, 15233 Ventura Blvd., Suite 200, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.

Career: Composer, musician, producer, and actor. Singer, songwriter, and guitarist with the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, later known as Oingo Boingo (also known as Boingo); composer for television commercials.

Member: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Awards, Honors: BMI Film Music Award, 1987, for Back to School; BMI Film Music Award, 1989, for Scrooged; Grammy Award (with others), best instrumental composition, 1989, for "The Batman Theme," from the movie Batman; Grammy Award nomination, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, best score, 1989, and BMI Film Music Award, 1990, both for Batman; BMI Film Music Award, 1989, and Saturn Award nomination, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, best music, 1990, both for Beetlejuice; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding achievement in main title theme music, 1990, and BMI TV Music awards, 1996, 1998, and 2003, all for The Simpsons; BMI Film Music Award and Grammy Award nomination, best score, both 1991, for Dick Tracy; Saturn Award nomination, best music, Grammy Award nomination, best instrumental composition, both 1992, for Edward Scissorhands; BMI Film Music Award, 1993, for Batman Returns; Saturn Award, best music, and Golden Globe Award nomination, outstanding original score, both 1994, for The Nightmare before Christmas; Saturn Award nomination, best music, 1996, for Dolores Claiborne; BMI Film Music Award, 1997, for Mission: Impossible; Saturn Award, best music, and Golden Satellite Award nomination, International Press Academy, outstanding original score, both 1997, for Mars Attacks!; Saturn Award nomination, best music, 1997, for The Frighteners; BMI Film Music Award, 1998, for Flubber; Saturn Award, best music, BMI Film Music Award, and Academy Award nomination, best music, all 1998, for Men in Black; Grammy Award nomination, best instrumental composition written for a motion picture or television, all 1998, for the main theme from Men in Black; BMI Film Music Award and Academy Award nomination, best music, both 1998, for Good Will Hunting; Sierra Award, Las Vegas Film Critics Society awards, best score, 1998, and Chicago Film Critics Association Award nomination, best original score, 1999, for A Simple Plan; Saturn Award, best music, BMI Film Music Award, Golden Satellite Award, best original score, and Sierra Award nomination, Las Vegas Film Critics Society awards, best score, all 2000, for Sleepy Hollow; Special Career Award, Fantasporto, 2000; BMI Film Music Award, 2001, for The Family Man; Golden Satellite Award nomination, best original score, 2001, for Proof of Life; BMI Film Music Award, Grammy Award nomination, best score soundtrack album, 2002, for Planet of the Apes; Richard Kirk Career Achievement Award, BMI Film and TV awards, 2002; World Soundtrack Award nomination, best original soundtrack of the year—orchestral, 2002, Saturn Award, best music, BMI Film Music Award, and Grammy Award nomination, best score soundtrack album, all 2003, for Spider–Man; BMI Film Music Award and Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music nomination (with others), British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 2003, both for Chicago; BMI Film Music Award, 2003, for Men in Black II; Saturn Award nomination, best music, 2004, for Hulk; Academy Award nomination, best music, Golden Globe Award nomination, best original score, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award nomination, best composer, and Grammy Award nomination, best score soundtrack album, all 2004, for Big Fish; BMI Film Music Award, 2004, for Hulk; Achievement Award for Film Music, Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2004; Saturn Award nomination, best music, Golden Satellite Award nomination, best original score, and Grammy Award nomination, best score soundtrack album, all 2005, for Spider–Man 2.

CREDITS

Film Score Producer:

Dead Presidents, Buena Vista, 1995.

Good Will Hunting, Miramax, 1997.

A Civil Action, Buena Vista, 1998.

Instinct, Buena Vista, 1999.

Red Dragon (also known as Roter Drache), Universal, 2002.

Film Music Producer:

Batman Returns, Warner Bros., 1992.

Dolores Claiborne, Columbia, 1995.

Extreme Measures, Columbia, 1996.

Psycho, Universal, 1998.

Proof of Life, Warner Bros., 2000.

Film Work; Other:

Music arranger, Forbidden Zone, Borack, c. 1979.

Executive producer and musician, Farewell: Live from the Universal Amphitheatre Halloween 1995, 1996.

Music score producer, Mars Attacks!, Warner Bros., 1996.

Music supervisor and music adaptor, Psycho, Universal, 1998.

Performer of music and songs that have been featured in films, television broadcasts, and video collections.

Film Appearances:

(As Dan Elfman) I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, New World Pictures, 1977.

Singer, Hot Tomorrow, American Film Institute, 1978.

Satan, Forbidden Zone, Borack, c. 1979.

Oingo Boingo band member, Ugh! A Music War, Lorimar, 1981.

Oingo Boingo band member, Back to School, Orion, 1986.

Himself, The Magical World of Chuck Jones, Warner Bros., 1992.

Voice of the Clown with the Tear Away Face, voice of Barrel, and the singing voice of Jack Skellington, The Nightmare before Christmas (animated; also known as Tim Burton's "The Nightmare before Christmas"), Buena Vista, 1993.

Singer—stuff, Farewell: Live from the Universal Amphitheatre Halloween 1995, 1996.

Tommy Lee Ballard, The Gift, Paramount Classics, 2000.

Satan, The Sixth Element, 2005.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Himself, Music behind the Scenes (documentary), [Great Britain], 2001.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Himself, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition, 1994.

Der Klang der Bilder (documentary), 1995.

The Hollywood Soundtrack Story, American Movie Classics, 1995.

The Score (documentary), 2002.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Himself, "Tim Burton: Trick or Treat," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 2001.

Himself, Super Secret Movie Rules: Slashers (also known as SSMR: Slashers), VH1, 2004.

Himself, Super Secret Movie Rules: Stupid and Stupider (also known as SSMR: Stupid and Stupider), VH1, 2004.

Himself, Super Secret Movie Rules: Superheroes (also known as SSMR: Superheroes), VH1, 2004.

RECORDINGS

Albums with Oingo Boingo:

Oingo Boingo (EP), IRS, 1980.

10 Inch (EP), IRS, 1980.

Only A Lad, A & M, 1981.

Nothing to Fear, A & M, 1982.

Good for Your Soul, A & M, 1984.

Dead Man's Party, MCA, 1986.

BOI–NGO, MCA, 1987.

Boingo Alive, MCA, 1988.

Skeletons in the Closet (compilation), A & M, 1988.

Dark at the End of the Tunnel (compilation), MCA, 1990.

Best O'Boingo, MCA, 1991.

Boingo, Giant, 1994.

Farewell, A & M, 1996.

Anthology, Hip–O Records, 1999.

20th Century Masters—The Millennium Collection: The Best of Oingo Boingo, A & M, 2002.

Albums:

So–lo (also known as So Lo), MCA, 1985.

Videos:

"Psycho" Path, Universal Studios Home Video, 1999.

Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend, Paramount, 2000.

Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

The Making of "Hulk," Universal Studios Home Video, 2003.

Making the Amazing (also known as Making the Amazing: Spider–Man 2), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2004.

Video Games:

Voice of Barrel, Kingdom Hearts (also known as Kingudamu hatsu), Square Electronic Arts, 2002.

WRITINGS

Film Scores:

Forbidden Zone, Borack, c. 1979.

Pee–Wee's Big Adventure, Warner Bros., 1985.

Back to School, Orion, 1986.

Wisdom, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1986.

Summer School, Paramount, 1987.

Beetlejuice, Warner Bros., 1988.

Big Top Pee–Wee, Paramount, 1988.

Face Like a Frog (short film), 1988.

Hot to Trot, Warner Bros., 1988.

Midnight Run, Universal, 1988.

Scrooged, Paramount, 1988.

Batman, Warner Bros., 1989.

Darkman, Universal, 1990.

Dick Tracy, Buena Vista, 1990.

Edward Scissorhands, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1990.

Nightbreed (also known as Clive Barker's "Nightbreed"), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1990.

Article 99, Orion, 1992.

Batman Returns, Warner Bros., 1992.

Army of Darkness (also known as Army of Darkness: Evil Dead 3, Army of Darkness: The Medieval Dead, Army of Darkness, the Ultimate Experience in Medieval Horror, Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness, Captain Supermarket, Evil Dead 3, and The Medieval Dead), Universal, 1993.

The Nightmare before Christmas (animated; also known as Tim Burton's "The Nightmare before Christmas"), Buena Vista, 1993.

Sommersby, Warner Bros., 1993.

Black Beauty, Warner Bros., 1994.

Darkman II: The Return of Durant, 1994.

Dead Presidents, Buena Vista, 1995.

Dolores Claiborne, Columbia, 1995.

Great People of the Bible & How They Lived, 1995.

To Die For, Columbia, 1995.

Bordello of Blood (also known as Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood), Universal, 1996.

Darkman III: Die Darkman Die, 1996.

Extreme Measures, Columbia, 1996.

Farewell: Live from the Universal Amphitheatre Halloween 1995, 1996.

The Frighteners (also known as Frighteners and Robert Zemeckis Presents: The Frighteners), Universal, 1996.

Mars Attacks!, Warner Bros., 1996.

Mission: Impossible, Paramount, 1996.

Flubber (also known as Disney's "Flubber: The Absent Minded Professor"), Buena Vista, 1997.

Good Will Hunting, Miramax, 1997.

Men in Black (also known as MIB), Columbia/TriStar, 1997.

Scream 2, Dimension Films, 1997.

A Civil Action, Buena Vista, 1998.

Modern Vampyres (also known as Modern Vampires and Revenant), Sterling Home Entertainment, 1998.

A Simple Plan (also known as Ein Einfacher Plan and Un plan simple), Paramount, 1998.

Anywhere but Here, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1999. Instinct, Buena Vista, 1999.

Sleepy Hollow, Paramount, 1999.

Condo Painting, October Films, 2000. The Family Man, Universal, 2000.

The Gift, Paramount Classics, 2000.

Proof of Life, Warner Bros., 2000.

The World of Stainboy (short animated film; also known as Stainboy), Flinch Studios, 2000.

Heartbreakers, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer, 2001.

Mazer World (short film), Archway Pictures, 2001.

Novocaine, Artisan Entertainment, 2001.

Planet of the Apes, Twentieth Century–Fox, 2001.

Spy Kids, Miramax, 2001.

The Adventures of Mad Matt (short film), 2002.

Chicago (musical), Miramax, 2002.

Men in Black II (also known as MIB 2 and MIIB), Columbia/TriStar, 2002.

Red Dragon (also known as Roter Drache), Universal, 2002.

Spider–Man, Columbia, 2002.

Big Fish, Columbia, 2003.

Hulk (live action and animated), Universal, 2003.

Spider–Man 2 (also known as Spider–Man 2: The IMAX Experience), Columbia, 2004.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (musical), Warner Bros., 2005.

Corpse Bride (also known as Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride"), Warner Bros., 2005.

Charlotte's Web, Paramount, 2006.

A Day with Wilbur Robinson, Buena Vista, c. 2006.

Film Songs:

"Bachelor Party Theme," "Something Isn't Right," and "Who Do You Want to Be Today," Bachelor Party, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1983.

"Weird Science," Weird Science, Universal, 1985.

Big Top Pee–Wee, Paramount, 1988.

"Face to Face," Batman Returns, Warner Bros., 1992.

"March of the Dead" theme, Army of Darkness (also known as Army of Darkness: Evil Dead 3, Army of Darkness: The Medieval Dead, Army of Darkness, the Ultimate Experience in Medieval Horror, Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness, Captain Supermarket, Evil Dead 3, and The Medieval Dead), Universal, 1993.

The Nightmare before Christmas (animated; also known as Tim Burton's "The Nightmare before Christmas"), Buena Vista, 1993.

Tales from the Crypt theme, Demon Knight (also known as Demon Keeper and Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight), Universal, 1995.

Tales from the Crypt theme, Bordello of Blood (also known as Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood), Universal, 1996.

"Cassandra" aria, Scream 2 (also known as Scream

Again, Scream Louder, and Scream: The Sequel), Miramax/Dimension Films, 1997.

"Home Again," Home Alone 3, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1997.

"Uncle Martin Theme," My Favorite Martian (also known as My Favourite Martian), Buena Vista, 1999.

Elfman's music and songs have been featured in films, television broadcasts, and video collections.

Television Themes; Series:

Sledge Hammer!, ABC, 1986–88.

Pee–Wee's Playhouse, CBS, 1986–91.

Beetlejuice (animated), ABC, 1989–92.

Tales from the Crypt (also known as HBO's "Tales from the Crypt"), HBO, 1989–96.

The Flash, CBS, 1990–91.

The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 1990—.

Batman: The Animated Series (animated; also known as The Adventures of Batman and Robin, Batman, and The New Batman/Superman Adventures), Fox, 1992–95.

Family Dog (animated), CBS, 1993.

Weird Science, USA Network, 1994–98.

Perversions of Science, HBO, 1997.

"The Dilbert Zone," Dilbert (animated), UPN, 1999–2000.

Desperate Housewives, ABC, 2004—.

Point Pleasant, Fox, 2005.

Television Music; Movies:

Freeway, HBO, 1996.

Subzero, WB, 1998.

Composer for the short Oh No, Not Them!, MTV.

Television Music; Specials:

A Special Evening of Pee–Wee's Playhouse, CBS, 1987.

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (animated; also known as The Simpsons Christmas Special), Fox, 1989.

Television Music; Episodic:

"Family Dog," Amazing Stories, NBC, 1985.

"The Jar," Alfred Hitchcock Presents, NBC, 1985.

"Mummy Dearest," Amazing Stories, NBC, 1985.

Television Music; Pilots:

"Fast Times," Fast Times (also known as Fast Times at Ridgemont High), CBS, 1986.

The Flash, CBS, 1990.

Albums; Soundtracks:

Pee Wee's Big Adventure, 1985.

Back to School, 1986.

Beetlejuice, 1988.

Big Top Pee Wee, Pendulum, 1988.

Midnight Run, MCA, 1988.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure/Back to School, 1988.

Batman, 1989.

Darkman, MCA, 1990.

Dick Tracy, Sire Records, 1990.

Music for a Darkened Theatre Vol. 1: Music from Television and Movies (compilation), MCA, 1990.

Nightbreed, 1990.

The Story of Edward Scissorhands, 1990.

Article 99, Varese Sarabande, 1992.

Batman Returns, Warner Bros., 1992.

Dolores Claiborne, Varese Sarabande, 1995.

Mission: Impossible, Point Music, 1996.

Music for a Darkened Theatre Vol. 2: Film and Television Music (compilation), MCA, 1996.

Flubber, 1997.

Spider–Man, Sony Soundtrax, 2002.

The Hulk, Decca, 2003.

Albums with Oingo Boingo:

Oingo Boingo (EP), IRS, 1980.

10 Inch (EP), IRS, 1980.

Only A Lad, A & M, 1981.

Nothing to Fear, A & M, 1982.

Good for Your Soul, A & M, 1984.

Dead Man's Party, MCA, 1986.

BOI–NGO, MCA, 1987.

Boingo Alive, MCA, 1988.

Skeletons in the Closet (compilation), A & M, 1988.

Dark at the End of the Tunnel (compilation), MCA, 1990.

Best O'Boingo, MCA, 1991.

Boingo, Giant, 1994.

Farewell, A & M, 1996.

Anthology, Hip–O Records, 1999.

20th Century Masters—The Millennium Collection: The Best of Oingo Boingo, A & M, 2002.

Albums:

So–lo (also known as So Lo), MCA, 1985.

Video Composer:

Oingo Boingo: Skeletons In the Closet, 1989.

Amazing Stories: Book Two, 1992.

Theme, Flash III: Deadly Nightshade, 1992.

Barry Sonnenfeld's "Intergalactic Guide to Comedy," Columbia/TriStar, 2002.

Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

Creature Featurettes, Columbia/TriStar, 2002.

Design in Motion: The Look of "Men in Black II," Columbia/TriStar, 2002.

Men in Black Training Video: Australia, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

Men in Black Training Video: Germany, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

Men in Black Training Video: Japan, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

Men in Black Training Video: UK, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

MIB ADR, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

Rick Baker: Alien Maker, Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

Squish, Splat, Sploosh: The Stellar Sounds of "Men in Black II," Columbia/TriStar Home Video, 2002.

The Making of "Hulk," Universal Studios Home Video, 2003.

A Look into "The Forbidden Zone," Fantoma, 2004.

Video Game Music:

Bart vs. the Space Mutants, 1991.

(And theme) The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield (also known as Virtual Springfield), 1997.

The Simpsons Road Rage, Nintendo, 2001.

Kingdom Hearts (also known as Kingudamu hatsu), Square Electronic Arts, 2002.

Theme, The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Vivendi Universal Games, 2003.

Video Scripts:

Farewell: Live from the Universal Amphitheatre Halloween 1995, 1996.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Musicians, Gale, 1993.

Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Gale, 1995.

Periodicals:

American Film, February, 1991, p. 42.

Billboard, May 25, 2002, p. 19.

Egg, December/January, 1991.

Entertainment@Home, April, 1997, pp. 88–92.

Fanfare, November/December, 1989.

Hollywood Reporter, January 18, 1993.

Keyboard, September, 1987.

Movieline, November, 1993, pp. 54–58, 86–87.

Penthouse, November, 1999, p. 9.

Premiere, January, 1991, p. 42.

Rolling Stone, November 11, 1993.

Starlog, December, 1993; February, 1997.

Time, October 11, 1993.

Village Voice, November 3, 1993.