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Menken, Alan * 1949.07.22 in Rochelle, New York
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Menken erhilet sein musikalische Ausbildung an der New York Univercity. Bevor er di Musik für seinen ersten Hollywood-Film (1989) schrieb, war Menken ein in hohem Grade erfolgreicher Verfasser von Hit-Shows. In Verbindung mit dem Film kam Menken mit der Show "Little Shop of Horrors", das er auf den Text von Howard Ashman vertonte und das Aufmerksamkeit bei den Disney-Studios erregt, welches zu jener Zeit gerade vo sich hinkränkelte. Zusammen mit den Textdichtern Ashman, Tim Rice und Stephen Schwartz gelangen Kompositionen von Alan Menken zu weltruhm und die Filme wurde zu Publikumslieblingen: "The little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladin", "Poncahontas" und "Der Glöckner von Notre Dame". Seine Musik erhielt zahlreiche Oskars und andere Awards. Der 6. Film, die Geschichte des Herkules (1997) wurde jeoch ein massiver Flop und Menken kündigte den Vertrag mit dem Studio. Seit dem hat er keine Filmmusik mehr geschrieben.
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He was educated at New York University. Before scoring his first Hollywood movie in 1989, Menken was a highly successful writer on and off-Broadway, with hit shows including "Her Pilgrim Soul", "King David", "A Christmas Carol" and "Weird Romance". It was when another one of his shows, "Little Shop of Horrors", which he wrote with the late lyricist Howard Ashman, was turned into a movie, that Menken's name began to be associated with film music, and was quickly hired to breathe musical life into the ailing Disney animation studio. Through collaborations with great lyricists such as Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz, Menken almost single-handedly revived the fortunes of the studio, writing songs and score for now-classic films such as 'The Little Mermaid', 'Beauty and the Beast' 'Aladdin', 'Pocahontas' and 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. Along the way, Menken picked up an astounding eight Academy Awards, making him the third highest individual Oscar-winner in the history of the event. However, Menken's sixth score for the Magic Kingdom, 'Hercules' in 1997, was a massive flop of Hercules, both critically and commercially, and Menken's contract with the studio was terminated. Shockingly, he has not scored a movie since.
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