Alan Menken is a Disney legend who has won more Academy Awards than any other living individual, including eight Oscars with 4 for Best Score and 4 for Best Song; 11 Grammy Awards (including Song of the Year for "A Whole New World"); and 7 Golden Globes. He is best known for his work on Disney films including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, Pocahontas, Enchanted, and Tangled, as well as the onstage musicals Newsies, Little Shop of Horrors, A Christmas Carol and Sister Act. He is currently working with Lin-Manuel Miranda ... read more
Authorized Biography: Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, by Carol de Giere) www.DefyingGravityTheBook.com
Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to live in New York City, he went to work as a producer for RCA Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway theatre.
His first major credit was the title song for ... read more
