Norman Gimbel
from Brooklyn, NY
November 16, 1927 - December 19, 2018 (age 91)
Biography
Songwriter Norman Gimbel scored his first major hit authoring lyrics for Toots Thielemans' 1961 tune Bluesette; he subsequently wrote the English-language adaptation of Antonio Carlos Jobim's classic The Girl From Ipanema, also adapting compositions by Michel Legrand (I Will Wait for You and Watch What Happens, both from Jacques Demy's celebrated film musical #The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) and Marcus Valle (Summer Samba [So Nice]). With composer Charles Fox, Gimbel wrote Killing Me Softly With His Song, a chart-topping hit for Roberta Flack in 1973 and an eventual winner of a Grammy for Song of the Year. Gimbel and Fox also wrote prolifically for films: their score for 1973's #The Last American Hero yielded the Jim Croce hit I Got a Name, while 1975's #The Other Side of the Mountain featured the Oscar-nominated Richard's Window. The team earned a second Academy Award nomination in 1978 for the Barry Manilow-sung Ready to Take a Chance Again (from #Foul Play), but their greatest success was in television; they wrote dozens of theme songs, among them #Happy Days, #Laverne and Shirley (Making Our Dreams Come True, a Top 40 hit for singer Cyndi Grecco), #The Love Boat, #Wonder Woman, and #Love, American Style. Gimbel teamed with composer David Shire to write It Goes Like It Goes, the Oscar-winning theme to 1979's #Norma Rae. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
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