'Titanic' Composer James Horner Dies in Plane Crash
Celebrated composer James Horner, best known for his Oscar-winning score for Titanic, died in a plane crash on Monday, his assistant confirmed. Horner was 61.
A plane registered to Horner crashed in North Ventura County on Monday morning at about 9:30 a.m., and the pilot was killed. It was not immediately clear if Horner was on the plane.
Horner's death was later confirmed by his assistant Sylvia Patrycja in a post on Facebook.
A great tragedy has struck my family today, and I will not be around for a while. I would like some privacy and time to...
Posted by Sylvia Patrycja on Monday, June 22, 2015
Horner's attorney Jay Cooper told NBC L.A. that the acclaimed composer owned five aircraft, including two helicopters. Cooper added that Horner was an "experienced" pilot.
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Horner won two Oscars for his work on Titanic, one for Best Original Score and the other for Best Song, having written the music for the Celine Dion hit "My Heart With Go On."
Horner received seven other Oscar nominations and is remembered for his work on such beloved classics as Field of Dreams, Legends of the Fall, Braveheart, Aliens, Apollo 13, Jumanji and A Beautiful Mind, among hundreds of others.
Horner was also the go-to composer for director James Cameron, including Avatar, as well as filmmakers Ron Howard and Mel Gibson. He had completed scores for several upcoming movies, including Southpaw, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and The 33 with Antonio Banderas.
In 2010, Horner was interviewed about his involvement with the aerial aerobatic group called The Horsemen, in which Horner opened up about his love of flying planes and his renewed interest in piloting.
"I used to fly when I was younger," Horner recounted. "I never had a mentor, it was all self-induced. I grew up around air shows and air planes."
In a December interview, Horner spoke about his career and the philosophy behind the choices he made.
"I don't want to be doing these movies that now 85 or 90 composers want, as opposed to six," he said. "And now all these … action movies. I don't get offered all the movies obviously, but I see a lot of them and I do get asked to do a lot of them."
He added: "I just know they’re not asking me to do something that I can do – something original. They’re asking me to do a formula and I’m too rebellious." Many of Horner's friends and colleagues have taken to Twitter to share their condolences for the loss of the beloved composer.
Brilliant Composer James Horner, friend & collaborator on 7 movies has tragically died in a plane crash. My heart aches for his loved ones.
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) June 23, 2015
Overwhelmed by sadness tonight. One of my childhood heroes has unexpectedly left us.
— Bear McCreary (@bearmccreary) June 23, 2015
"If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die. Dreams see us through to forever." RIP James Horner. You'll be sadly missed.
— James Wan (@creepypuppet) June 23, 2015
We lost a MASTER today. RIP James Horner. Your music will live forever... https://t.co/qi4n0hiX0d
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) June 23, 2015
My sincere condolences to the family, loved ones and friends of James Horner. #abeautifulmind
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) June 23, 2015
Brilliant composer JAMES HORNER, friend and collaborator on many movies, has tragically died in a plane crash. My heart is with his family.
— Frank Marshall (@LeDoctor) June 23, 2015
You were one of my childhood heroes, James. Thank you for the inspiration, you will be greatly missed.
— Michael Giacchino (@m_giacchino) June 23, 2015
#JAMES HORNER composed the score to Volunteers, the movie that @tomhanks & I did in 1985. Beautiful score. Prayers 4 James and his family.
— Rita Wilson (@RitaWilson) June 23, 2015
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