Johnny Mandel was an Oscar- and Grammy-winning songwriter who composed songs including the “M*A*S*H” theme (“Suicide Is Painless”) and “The Shadow of Your Smile.”
- Died: June 29, 2020 (Who else died on June 29?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 94.
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Composer and arranger
Mandel won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1965 for “The Shadow of Your Smile,” the theme song to “The Sandpiper.” He also won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for his composition. In 1970, he composed the theme song to the movie “M*A*S*H,” which was again used as an instrumental version in the TV series inspired by the movie. Mandel wrote the scores to films including “The Americanization of Emily,” “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” and “Caddyshack.” Also an arranger, he won Grammy Awards for his arrangements of Quincy Jones’ song “Velas” and for Natalie Cole’s (1950 – 2015) 1991 duet with her late father, Nat King Cole (1919 – 1965), “Unforgettable.”
Mandel on how he wrote a melody
“I’ve always loved key changes or lines and chords that sounded like key changes. That’s where my ear takes me when I’m writing a song. You have to push yourself to go somewhere else after eight bars. I was always doing that instrumentally.” —from a 2008 interview with JazzWax
What people said about him
Full obituary: Variety
