Ennio Morricone, the Italian-born maestro, is considered one of the most accomplished and prolific film composers of all time — his astonishing achievements are reflected in nine Golden Globe nominations spanning five different decades.
His final Golden Globe was awarded to him in 2016 for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, following previous wins for The Legend of 1900, in 2000, and The Mission, in 1987.

Accepting the Best Original Score trophy on behalf of Morricone, an exuberant Tarantino took to the podium. “Ennio Morricone is my favorite composer, and when I say composer I don’t mean movie composer, that ghetto. I’m talking about Mozart, I’m talking about Beethoven, I’m talking about Schubert, that’s who I’m talking about,” he said. “He has never won an award for any individual movie, and I have to say that I directed the movie that Ennio Morricone, at 87 years of age, did an original score for and won the Golden Globe! For Ennio and his wife, I say, ‘Grazie! Grazie!’”

Morricone received his Golden Globe during a press conference at Bulgari Domus in central Rome on January 30, 2016. The award was presented by late HFPA President  Lorenzo Soria.
A six-time Oscar nominee, Morricone also received his first Academy Award that year for The Hateful Eight, on top of his Academy Honorary Award in 2007, for his contribution to the art of film music. At the time, his win for The Hateful Eight marked the oldest recipient of a competitive Oscar.

Overall, Morricone was responsible for more than 400 scores for cinema and TV, and more than 100 classical works. His score for 1966’s The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009. He wrote music for other Westerns, including A Fistful of Dollars, and his work on Once Upon a Time in the West remains one of the best-selling scores worldwide.
Morricone’s music has been featured in such TV series as The Sopranos and The Simpsons. His compositions can also be heard in the soundtracks for such films as Once Upon a Time in America, Cinema Paradiso, The Untouchables, Inglourious Basterds, and Django Unchained.
Morricone died in 2020. He will be forever remembered as a composer, conductor, orchestrator, trumpeter, legend, and cultural icon.