Richard Bellis (born April 3, 1946 in Pasadena, California) is an American film and television music composer, former Composers and Lyricists Guild of America (CLGA) president,[1] former ATAS governor,[2]USC lecturer,[2] musical director and former actor.[3]
Bellis was a child actor and auditioned to be a Mouseketeer.[3] Bellis attended John Muir High School from which he graduated in 1964.[2] Bellis has directed the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop for many years.[4][5]
Bellis has composed and arranged music for the Disney theme parks, starting with arranging music for the opening of the EPCOT Center.[3] He would continue working for EPCOT on projects like “Tomorrow’s Child”, Spaceship Earth, and the Imagination Pavilion.[3] He wrote music for the Star Tours ride and Indiana Jones Adventure Stunt show at Disney's Hollywood Studios.[3]
Before writing the score for Stephen King's It, Bellis had written scores for a number of tv movies.[6] However, when opportunities for composing dried up, he started a woodworking business with his wife.[6] They built rack-mounted cabinets and console surrounds for those he knew in the music industry, as well as kitchen cabinets and conference room tables.[6]
When writing for It, he was inspired by Bernard Herrmann, particularly his use of motifs and ostinatos.[6] The music for IT was a mixture of circus and carnival music and features a calliope.[6]
It was a 2-episode supernatural horror and dark fantasy television miniseries, released in 1990. When Emmy submissions came, they could only submit one episode and chose to submit the first.[6] As a result, he received both his first Emmy nomination and first win in for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)" in 1991.[7][6] He was interviewed in a 2021 documentary film Pennywise: The Story of It.[8]
Works
The Emerging Film Composer: An Introduction to the People, Problems, and Psychology of the Film Music Business. February 2, 2007. ISBN978-0-615-13623-3.[3]
Awards
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a miniseries or a special (dramatic underscore)
