Lalo Schifrin

Argentinian film and TV score composer, arranger, conductor and pianist.
Born on June 21, 1932 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Died on June 26, 2025 in Los Angeles, USA (from pneumonia).
Classically trained as a musician, he was the son of the concertmaster of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic (). His first piano teacher was Enrique Barenboim (the father of ). He studied at the Paris Conservatory under . Schifrin met in 1956, moved to the United States in 1958, and was a member of Gillespie’s quintet (1960-1962) writing the extended works “Gillespiana” and “The New Continent” for Gillespie.

He gained his highest recognition as a composer of music for the screen, including the theme for “Mission: Impossible” (TV series 1966-1973, and the later films from 1996), as well the motion pictures “Cool Hand Luke”, “Bullitt” and “Dirty Harry”. During the course of his career, Schifrin received six Oscar nominations, four Grammys (with twenty-one nominations), and one Cable ACE Award. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was awarded an honorary Oscar in November 2018 in recognition of his work. His autobiography is titled “Mission Impossible: My Life In Music”.

See also the label Aleph Records and Donna Schifrin.