Born in, Rome, Italy; educated at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome (music). Prolific composer whose hypnotic scores have graced a wide range of international films from the early 1960s to the present. Morricone began composing for the screen in his native Italy and came to prominence for the haunting score that whined and whistled through former classmate Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti western, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964) -- the first of many collaborations between the two. Morricone has also worked with Italian directors Bertolucci (1900, 1977) and Pasolini (THE DECAMERON, 1970) and lent his considerable talent to a host of international productions. To date, he has written scores for over 475 films and television programs, and has worked with leading figures such as Terrence Malick (DAYS OF HEAVEN, 1978), Brian De Palma (THE UNTOUCHABLES, 1987) and Roman Polanski (FRANTIC, 1988). A few of his other notable (non-nominated) credits in international releases include THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1965), THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY (1966), TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA (1969), MY NAME IS NOBODY (1973), MUSSOLINI: THE LAST FOUR DAYS (1974), EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC and ORCA (both 1977), LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (1978), WINDOWS (1980), SO FINE (1981), John Carpenter's THE THING (1982), SAHARA (1983), ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984), RED SONJA (1985), CASUALTIES OF WAR and FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY (both 1989), STATE OF GRACE and HAMLET (both 1990), CITY OF JOY (1992), IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993), DISCLOSURE (1994), LOLITA (1997), BULWORTH (1998), MISSION TO MARS and VATEL (both 2000), THRENODY and RIPLEY'S GAME (both 2002), A CRIME (2006), and THE UNTOUCHABLES: CAPONE RISING and LENINGRAD (both scheduled for 2008).  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score) 1978: DAYS OF HEAVEN  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Original Music Score) 1986: THE MISSION  Nominated for Achievement in Music (Original Score) 1987: THE UNTOUCHABLES  Nominated for Achievement in Music (Original Score) 1991: BUGSY  Nominated for Achievement in Music (Original Musical or Comedy Score) 2000: MALÈNA  Testimonial Award 2006: "For his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music." 5 nominations, 1 Testimonial Award