Johnny Harris was born in Scotland and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music in London. Beginning as a professional trumpeter, he soon transitioned into a celebrated career as arranger/conductor/composer/musical director for such performers as Tom Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey, Paul Anka, Diana Ross and many others. Apart from a few features early in his career (Fragment of Fear, 1970; Man In the Wilderness, 1971), he has focused primarily on composing for television (The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, 1978-79; The Powers of Matthew Star, 1982-83). IMDB

Isaac Hayes (1942-2008) was a soul legend whose "Theme From Shaft" (released in its original soundtrack recording by FSM) defined '70s urban film music. He was a hugely talented composer, arranger, songwriter and performer who set trends in pop music and R&B as well as film, and was the first African-American composer to win an Academy Award for music (Best Original Song, "Theme From Shaft"). In recent years he voiced the "Chef" character on South Park, further cementing his place as a pop icon.IMDB

Neal Hefti (1922-2008) parlayed a big band and songwriting career into an influential run as a film and TV composer largely in the 1960s, when he wrote the famous "Batman" and "The Odd Couple" themes. He had a knack for melody and instrumental color in the Mancini-era of sophisticated pop/orchestral scoring for "light" adult subject matter—but he could also do other genres, as with the western Duel at Diablo. Everything he laid his hands on ended up with a polished, fresh and tuneful sound.IMDB

Jim Helms (1933-1991) was a professional studio guitarist, recording albums in the 1960s both under his own name and working as a guitarist/arranger with such pop and country artists as Rick Nelson, Randy Sparks and Rod McKuen. In partnership with singer-producer-songwriter Gary LeMel, he scored television commercials and low-budget films beginning in the late ‘60s, but his most notable and memorable work was his music for the ABC television series Kung Fu (1972-73). IMDB

Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975) started his film career with Citizen Kane, finished with Taxi Driver, and in-between scored famous projects for Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Vertigo), Ray Harryhausen and a host of others—to say nothing of the transcendent beauty of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir or the pioneering timbres of The Day the Earth Stood Still. He practically invented “psychological” film scoring and the use of orchestral color to achieve dramatic ends; his music for radio and television is brilliant despite (or perhaps because of) his limited resources. He was a genius and cast a long shadow on music for film. P.S. Check out On Dangerous Ground. IMDB

Frederick Hollander (1896-1976), composer of cabaret songs and over 100 film scores, emigrated from Berlin to Hollywood after composing the music for Marlene Dietrich’s The Blue Angel (from which came the perennial classic, “Falling In Love Again”). Much of his work in the 1930s was uncredited, but among the major films bearing his name are Destry Rides Again, Christmas in Connecticut, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Sabrina and Born Yesterday. In the mid 1950s, after writing the Oscar-nominated score for The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., Hollander returned to Germany where he pursued writing musicals and revues. IMDB

Kenyon Hopkins (1912-1983) was an important composer in the late 1950s, early 1960s evolution of dramatic scores (often for stage adaptations) from fully symphonic to intimate, jazz-influenced chamber works, as on Baby Doll, 12 Angry Men, The Fugitive Kind and others. He also composed several concept albums and from 1970-1973 was head of music at Paramount Television.IMDB

James Horner (b. 1953) is one of the most successful and in-demand composers of the modern era, capable of everything from traditional symphonic scores (Star Trek II, Aliens, Willow) to off-beat, ethnic and atmospheric approaches (Patriot Games, Sneakers)—often blending the two, as on the record-breaking and double-Oscar-winning Titanic. Classically trained, he originally intended to be a concert composer, before the realities of that field led to film assignments in the B-movie world of Roger Corman—and a rapid ascension through the Hollywood ranks. His credits read like a history of the modern-day blockbuster: 48 Hrs., Cocoon, An American Tail, Field of Dreams, Glory, Legends of the Fall, Apollo 13, The Mask of Zorro, The Perfect Storm, Troy and Avatar—to name but a few. IMDB

Maurice Jarre (1924-2009) launched to the top of the film scoring world with his iconic score for Lawrence of Arabia in 1962—and pretty much stayed there. His unorthodox but powerful symphonic style is most often associated with epics by David Lean (Dr. Zhivago) and others but he was just as masterful with intimate subject matter (The Collector) and synthesizer scores(Witness). FSM has released not only several of his feature film scores, but a CD of his concert music from the 1950s in his native France.IMDB

J.J. Johnson (1924-2001) was an influential jazz trombonist whose solo career also encompassed Bebop and Third Stream (a mix of classical music and jazz improvisation). In 1961 he recorded a rare vinyl disc with the André Previn Trio. In 1970, Quincy Jones invited him to Hollywood where he scored such films as Cleopatra Jones and Willie Dynamite, as well as TV series such as Starsky & Hutch, The Mod Squad and The Six Million Dollar Man. He resumed his performing career in 1987. IMBD