Richard Bellis

Richard Bellis
Born (1946-04-03) April 3, 1946
OccupationComposer

Richard Bellis (born April 3, 1946) is an American film and television music composer, former president of the Composers and Lyricists Guild of America (CLGA),[1] former governor of the ATAS,[2] lecturer at USC,[2] musical director and former child actor.[3]

Biography

Early life and career

Born in Pasadena,[4] Bellis was a child actor and auditioned to be a Mouseketeer.[3] Bellis attended John Muir High School, from which he graduated in 1964.[2] Bellis has directed the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop for many years.[5][6]

Bellis has composed and arranged music for the Disney theme parks, starting with arranging music for the opening of the EPCOT Center.[3] He would continue working for EPCOT on projects like “Tomorrow’s Child”, Spaceship Earth, and the Imagination Pavilion.[3] He wrote music for the Star Tours ride and Indiana Jones Adventure Stunt show at Disney's Hollywood Studios.[3] Bellis has also written scores for a number of television films.[7] However, when opportunities for composing dried up, he started a woodworking business with his wife.[7] They built rack-mounted cabinets and console surrounds for those he knew in the music industry, as well as kitchen cabinets and conference room tables.[7]

Stephen King's It

When writing for Stephen King's It in 1990, he was inspired by Bernard Herrmann, particularly his use of motifs and ostinatos.[7] The music for It was a mixture of circus and carnival music and features a calliope.[7] When Emmy submissions came, they could only submit one episode and chose to submit the first.[7] As a result, he received both his first Emmy nomination and first win in for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)" in 1991.[8][7] He was interviewed in a 2021 documentary film Pennywise: The Story of It.[9]

Works

  • The Emerging Film Composer: An Introduction to the People, Problems, and Psychology of the Film Music Business. February 2, 2007. ISBN 978-0-615-13623-3.[3]

Awards

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)
Year: 1991
Work: Stephen King's "It"
Status: Winner[8]
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)
Year: 1992
Work: Doublecrossed
Status: Nominee[8]
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)
Year: 1994
Work: Double, Double, Toil And Trouble
Status: Nominee[8]

References