# Alan Silvestri

Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator and music producer of film scores. He has received two Grammy Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for nearly all of his feature films, including the Back to the Future film series (1985–1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), What Lies Beneath (2000), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007), Flight (2012) and The Walk (2015).
Silvestri also scored many other popular movies, including Predator (1987), The Abyss (1989), Father of the Bride (1991), The Bodyguard (1992), Eraser (1996), The Parent Trap (1998), Stuart Little (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), Lilo & Stitch (2002), Van Helsing (2004), Night at the Museum trilogy, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The A-Team (2010), Ready Player One (2018), and several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including the Avengers films.

## Early life and education

Silvestri was born March 26, 1950. His grandparents emigrated in 1909 from the Italian town of Castell'Alfero, and settled in Teaneck, New Jersey. He grew up in Teaneck, and graduated in 1968 from Teaneck High School. He attended Berklee College of Music for two years. He was a drummer for a short time in 1966 with Teaneck-based rock band the Wildcats.

## Career

Silvestri moved to Los Angeles in 1970. "I came to Hollywood in 1970 broke.... I didn't even have any goals or plans. I didn't even go to movies. And I knew nothing about composers or composing," he said. In 1972, while he was working intermittently as a session guitarist, the producer of the low-budget action film The Doberman Gang asked him to score the picture. Silvestri agreed, despite a lack of experience: "I went out and bought a how-to-compose book by Earl Hagen.... At one point, I was using beer cans for percussion."
From 1978 to 1983, Silvestri was the main composer for the television series CHiPs, writing music for 95 of the show's 139 episodes.
Silvestri met film director Robert Zemeckis when they worked together on Zemeckis's film Romancing the Stone (1984). Since then, he has composed the music for all of Zemeckis's movies, including the Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007), A Christmas Carol (2009), Flight (2012), and The Walk (2015).
In 1989, Silvestri composed the score for the James Cameron-directed film The Abyss. Since 2001, he has also collaborated regularly with director Stephen Sommers, scoring the films The Mummy Returns (2001), Van Helsing (2004), and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). He also composed the ImageMovers opening theme.
Silvestri has composed the scores for four Marvel Cinematic Universe films: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019) and is currently scheduled to compose the scores for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. His themes and motifs from those films have been referenced and reprised by other composers in multiple other MCU films.
Silvestri has also composed music for television series, including T. J. Hooker (one episode), Starsky & Hutch (three episodes), and Tales from the Crypt (seven episodes). In 2014, he composed the award-winning music for the science documentary series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. He wrote new songs with Glen Ballard for the live-action/CGI film adaptation of Disney's Pinocchio.

## Personal life

Silvestri and his wife Sandra own a vineyard, Silvestri Vineyards, in Carmel Valley, California. He also has a wine tasting room for his vineyards on the ground floor of the Enchanted Oaks Building. He has a daughter and two sons. A licensed pilot, he flies his own jet aircraft.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1972 | The Doberman Gang | Byron Chudnow | |
| 1975 | Las Vegas Lady | Noel Nosseck | |
| 1976 | The Amazing Dobermans | Byron Ross Chudnow | |
| 1978 | The Fifth Floor | Howard Avedis | |
| 1983 | Tiger Man | Matt Cimber | Credited as Alan Sylvestri |
| 1984 | Romancing the Stone | Robert Zemeckis | First collaboration with Robert Zemeckis |
| 1984 | Par où t'es rentré ? On t'a pas vu sortir | Philippe Clair | |
| 1985 | Fandango | Kevin Reynolds | |
| 1985 | Cat's Eye | Lewis Teague | |
| 1985 | Back to the Future | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1985 | Summer Rental | Carl Reiner | |
| 1986 | The Clan of the Cave Bear | Michael Chapman | |
| 1986 | The Delta Force | Menahem Golan | |
| 1986 | American Anthem | Albert Magnoli | |
| 1986 | Flight of the Navigator | Randal Kleiser | |
| 1986 | No Mercy | Richard Pearce | |
| 1987 | Critical Condition | Michael Apted | |
| 1987 | Outrageous Fortune | Arthur Hiller | |
| 1987 | Predator | John McTiernan | |
| 1987 | Overboard | Garry Marshall | |
| 1988 | Mac and Me | Stewart Raffill | |
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1988 | My Stepmother Is an Alien | Richard Benjamin | |
| 1989 | She's Out of Control | Stan Dragoti | |
| 1989 | The Abyss | James Cameron | |
| 1989 | Back to the Future Part II | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1990 | Downtown | Richard Benjamin | |
| 1990 | Back to the Future Part III | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1990 | Young Guns II | Geoff Murphy | |
| 1990 | Predator 2 | Stephen Hopkins | Also conductor |
| 1991 | Shattered | Wolfgang Petersen | Also orchestrator / Replaced Angelo Badalamenti |
| 1991 | Soapdish | Michael Hoffman | Also orchestrator |
| 1991 | Dutch | Peter Faiman | Also pianist |
| 1991 | Ricochet | Russell Mulcahy | Also conductor |
| 1991 | Father of the Bride | Charles Shyer | |
| 1992 | Two-Fisted Tales | Richard Donner Tom Holland Robert Zemeckis | Segment: Yellow |
| 1992 | Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot | Roger Spottiswoode | |
| 1992 | FernGully: The Last Rainforest | Bill Kroyer | |
| 1992 | Death Becomes Her | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1992 | Diner | Graham Morris Karen Peterson | Short film |
| 1992 | The Bodyguard | Mick Jackson | |
| 1992 | Sidekicks | Aaron Norris | |
| 1993 | In Search of the Obelisk | Douglas Trumbull Arish Fyzee | IMAX film |
| 1993 | Cop and a Half | Henry Winkler | |
| 1993 | Super Mario Bros. | Rocky Morton / Annabel Jankel | Replaced Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1993 | Judgment Night | Stephen Hopkins | Also conductor |
| 1993 | Grumpy Old Men | Donald Petrie | |
| 1994 | Clean Slate | Mick Jackson | |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1994 | Blown Away | Stephen Hopkins | Also conductor |
| 1994 | Richie Rich | Donald Petrie | |
| 1995 | The Quick and the Dead | Sam Raimi | |
| 1995 | The Perez Family | Mira Nair | |
| 1995 | Judge Dredd | Danny Cannon | Also conductor / Replaced David Arnold and Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1995 | Father of the Bride Part II | Charles Shyer | |
| 1995 | Grumpier Old Men | Howard Deutch | |
| 1996 | Sgt. Bilko | Jonathan Lynn | Also conductor |
| 1996 | Mission: Impossible | Brian De Palma | Rejected Score |
| 1996 | Eraser | Chuck Russell | Also conductor |
| 1996 | The Long Kiss Goodnight | Renny Harlin | Also conductor |
| 1997 | Fools Rush In | Andy Tennant | |
| 1997 | Volcano | Mick Jackson | Also conductor |
| 1997 | Contact | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1997 | Mouse Hunt | Gore Verbinski | |
| 1998 | The Odd Couple II | Howard Deutch | Also conductor |
| 1998 | The Parent Trap | Nancy Meyers | Also conductor |
| 1998 | Holy Man | Stephen Herek | Also conductor |
| 1998 | Practical Magic | Griffin Dunne | Also conductor |
| 1999 | Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box | Brett Leonard | IMAX film |
| 1999 | Stuart Little | Rob Minkoff | Also conductor |
| 2000 | Reindeer Games | John Frankenheimer | Also conductor |
| 2000 | Cast Away | Robert Zemeckis | Also conductor |
| 2000 | What Lies Beneath | Robert Zemeckis | Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2000 | What Women Want | Nancy Meyers | Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2001 | The Mexican | Gore Verbinski | |
| 2001 | The Mummy Returns | Stephen Sommers | Replaced Jerry Goldsmith |
| 2001 | Serendipity | Peter Chelsom | Also conductor |
| 2002 | Showtime | Tom Dey | Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2002 | Lilo & Stitch | Chris Sanders Dean DeBlois | Also choir arranger and conductor |
| 2002 | Stuart Little 2 | Rob Minkoff | Also conductor |
| 2002 | Maid in Manhattan | Wayne Wang | |
| 2003 | Identity | James Mangold | Also conductor / Replaced Angelo Badalamenti |
| 2003 | Stitch! The Movie | Tony Craig / Bobs Gannaway | Themes only. Score composed by Michael Tavera |
| 2003 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life | Jan de Bont | Also conductor / Replaced Craig Armstrong and Graeme Revell |
| 2003 | Two Soldiers | Aaron Schneider | Short film; Also conductor |
| 2004 | Van Helsing | Stephen Sommers | Also conductor |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | Robert Zemeckis | Also conductor |
| 2006 | The Wild | Steve "Spaz" Williams | Also conductor |
| 2006 | Leroy & Stitch | Tony Craig / Bobs Gannaway | Themes only. Score composed by J. A. C. Redford |
| 2006 | Night at the Museum | Shawn Levy | |
| 2007 | Beowulf | Robert Zemeckis | Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2009 | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Shawn Levy | Also conductor |
| 2009 | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Stephen Sommers | Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2009 | G.I. Joe: The Invasion of Cobra Island | Rupinder Malhotra | Two-part web film |
| 2009 | A Christmas Carol | Robert Zemeckis | Also lyricist, conductor and orchestrator |
| 2010 | The A-Team | Joe Carnahan | Also conductor and orchestrator Themes by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter |
| 2011 | Captain America: The First Avenger | Joe Johnston | Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2012 | The Avengers | Joss Whedon | Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2012 | Flight | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2013 | The Croods | Chris Sanders / Kirk DeMicco | Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2013 | RED 2 | Dean Parisot | Themes by Christophe Beck |
| 2014 | Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb | Shawn Levy | |
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Joss Whedon | Themes only; score composed by Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman |
| 2015 | The Walk | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2015 | Doc Brown Saves the World | Glenn Sanders Brett Levisohn Thomas Guindon | |
| 2016 | Allied | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2018 | Ready Player One | Steven Spielberg | Replaced John Williams |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Anthony & Joe Russo | Score composer only |
| 2018 | Welcome to Marwen | Robert Zemeckis | Also conductor |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Anthony & Joe Russo | Score conducted with Mark Graham |
| 2020 | The Witches | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2022 | Pinocchio | Robert Zemeckis | Also lyricist, conductor and orchestrator |
| 2024 | Here | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2025 | The Electric State | Anthony & Joe Russo | Also conductor |
| 2025 | Play Dirty | Shane Black | |
| 2026 | Avengers: Doomsday | Anthony & Joe Russo |
| 2027 | Avengers: Secret Wars | Anthony & Joe Russo | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Channel | Notes |
| 1978–1979 | Starsky & Hutch | ABC | 3 episodes |
| 1978–1983 | CHiPs | NBC | 95 episodes |
| 1983 | Manimal | NBC | 5 episodes |
| 1983 | T. J. Hooker | ABC – CBS | Episode: "A Child Is Missing" |
| 1986 | Amazing Stories | NBC | Episode: "Go to the Head of Class" |
| 1989–1995 | Tales from the Crypt | HBO | 7 episodes |
| 1991–1992 | Back to the Future | CBS | Theme only |
| 2014 | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | Fox / National Geographic Channel | 13 episodes |
| 2020 | Cosmos: Possible Worlds | Fox / National Geographic Channel | 13 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

Silvestri has received two Academy Award nominations: Best Original Score for Forrest Gump (1994); and Best Original Song for "Believe" on The Polar Express soundtrack. He also received two Golden Globe nominations: Best Score for Forrest Gump and Best Song for The Polar Express. Silvestri received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in 1995.
He has also received nine Grammy Award nominations, winning two awards: Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Believe" from The Polar Express in 2004; and Best Instrumental Composition for "Cast Away End Credits" from Cast Away in 2002. His other nominations were for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special and Best Instrumental Composition, for Back to the Future in 1985, Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television, for Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988, Best Instrumental Composition, for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit Suite" in 1989, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, for "I'm Forrest...Forrest Gump (The Feather Theme)" in 1994, Best Instrumental Composition, for Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, and Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media, for Avengers: Endgame in 2019. During the 2005 Grammy Awards, Josh Groban performed "Believe".
He has won two Emmys, both for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey – Outstanding Main Title Theme Music and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for the episode "Standing Up in the Milky Way". He has won the Saturn Award for Best Music three times, for his scores for Predator (1987), Back to the Future Part III (1989/90), and Van Helsing (2004). On September 23, 2011, he received the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award from the City of Vienna the yearly film-music gala concert Hollywood in Vienna.
| Association | Year | Category | Project | Result |
| Academy Awards | 1994 | Best Original Score | Forrest Gump | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | 2004 | Best Original Song | The Polar Express ("Believe") | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1994 | Best Original Score | Forrest Gump | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | 2004 | Best Original Song | The Polar Express ("Believe") | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2014 | Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | Won |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2014 | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey ("Standing Up in the Milky Way") | Won |
| Grammy Awards | 1986 | Best Instrumental Composition | Back to the Future | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1986 | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Back to the Future | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1989 | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1990 | Best Instrumental Composition | Who Framed Roger Rabbit ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit Suite") | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 1995 | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | Forrest Gump | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 2002 | Best Instrumental Composition | Cast Away ("End Credits") | Won |
| Grammy Awards | 2006 | Best Song Written for Visual Media | The Polar Express ("Believe") | Won |
| Grammy Awards | 2019 | Best Instrumental Composition | Avengers: Infinity War | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 2020 | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Avengers: Endgame | Nominated |