Nick Glennie-Smith, the British composer, conductor and keyboardist known for his collaborations with Hans Zimmer and for his work on films including The Rock, The Man in the Iron Mask and Secretariat, has died. He was 74.
Glennie-Smith died peacefully Aug. 16 surrounded by family at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, his wife of 52 years, Jan Glennie-Smith, told The Hollywood Reporter. No cause of death was revealed.
As an orchestral conductor, Glennie-Smith teamed with two-time Oscar-winning composer Zimmer on such notable films as The Lion King (1994), Crimson Tide (1995), The Simpsons Movie (2007), Transformers (2007), X-Men: First Class (2011) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) as a member of his Remote Control Productions team.
For Michael Bay’s action-packed The Rock (1996), he shared principal composing duties with Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams.
He also composed the soaring score for Randall Wallace’s The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) before reuniting with the writer-director on We Were Soldiers (2002), Secretariat (2010) and Heaven Is for Real (2014).
Nicholas Hugh Glennie-Smith was born in London on Oct. 3, 1951. He began his professional career as a keyboard player and would perform or/and or record with the likes of Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey, Leo Sayer, Cliff Richard, Roger Waters, Phil Collins, Tina Turner and Elvis Costello.
He came to Hollywood in the late 1980s and played keyboards and/or provided music for films including K2 (1991) and Cool Runnings (1993).
Glennie-Smith also worked in various capacities on Bay’s Bad Boys (1995), Beyond Rangoon (1995), Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997), Con Air (1997), The Peacemaker (1997), King Arthur (2004), The Da Vinci Code (2006), A Little Bit of Heaven (2011), Wreck-It-Ralph (2012), Man of Steel (2013), Pacific Rim (2013), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), The Little Prince (2015), Deadpool (2016), Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) and Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).
His older son, Seth Glennie-Smith, is a composer and music editor with credits including Project Hail Mary, It Ends With Us and the rebooted Magnum P.I.
Survivors include his other son, Joss; daughters Haley and Katharine; daughter-in-law Caroline; son-in-law Nick; grandchildren Dylan, Milo and Charlotte; and siblings Steven and Ali.
Glennie-Smith also served as musical director for Zimmer’s live concerts and conducted the 60-piece orchestra at the 2012 Academy Awards that featured compositions from Zimmer and Pharrell Williams.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Nick Glennie-Smith,” the Facebook site Hans Zimmer Live posted. “Nick was far more than an extraordinary musician and composer. Through his many years alongside Hans Zimmer, he was a trusted creative partner, band member and, above all, a longtime friend.
“When people share so many years of music, creativity, stages, journeys and memories, that bond reaches far beyond the work. The music remains, but so does the friendship behind every note. Our deepest condolences to Nick’s family, friends and everyone whose life was touched by his music and his presence. May his music, his spirit and all the memories created together live on. He will always be the leader of our band. Rest in peace, Nick.”
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