Composing Greatness: #1. John Williams - "Valley of the Dolls" (1967)

Patty Duke in Valley of the Dolls

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

R.I.P. Patty Duke (1946-2016)

Patty Duke

On March 29, 2016, actress and singer Patty Duke died at the age of 69 in Couer d'Alene, Idaho from an ruptured intestine. Over the course of her long and storied career, she has achieved a variety of things from being one of the youngest Oscar winners for her role in The Miracle Worker to appearing in edgier adult roles like The Valley of the Dolls. Her work was vast and always challenging, choosing to take on roles that were sometimes confrontational and contradictory to her squeaky clean child star image. She leaves behind an impressive body of work that is unmatched in terms of quality or charisma as well as serving as an advocate for mental illness.