Alan Menken

Alan Irwin Menken is an American film and musical theater composer and pianist.
For Disney, he composed music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Home on the Range, Enchanted, and Tangled. He has worked with lyricists Howard Ashman, Sir Tim Rice, Stephen Schwartz, David Zippel, Jeff Wayne, and Glenn Slater.
In 2001, he and his musical partner, Howard Ashman were named Disney Legends, and their plaques are presented together on the same post at the Team—Disney Michael D. Eisner Building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
He is currently the only living person with the highest number of Academy Awards (four each for Best Original Score and Best Original Song). He has the third most Oscars of all time. Only Alfred Newman (9 wins) and Walt Disney (22 wins) have received more than him. He is tied with late costume designer Edith Head for the third most Oscar wins.
He has written songs outside of Disney, his most notable work being the 1982 musical Little Shop of Horrors, which was adapted into a film by Frank Oz in 1986. The song "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" earned him and Ashman their first Oscar nomination.
On July 26, 2020, Menken became the 16th person to achieve EGOT status, winning the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Original Song (Children's/Young Adult/Animation) for the song "Waiting in the Wings" from Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure.
Menken even shares the same exact first name as fellow composer Alan Silvestri who is also a frequent collaborator of Disney and Disney-related scores, as both artists have been born and raised in New York.
==Filmography==
===Feature films===
Year	Film 	Position 	Subsidiary
1989	The Little Mermaid 	Songs/Original Score 	Walt Disney Animation Studios
1991	Beauty and the Beast 	Songs/Original Score 	Walt Disney Animation Studios
1992	Newsies 	Original Songs: Music 	Walt Disney Pictures
1992	Aladdin 	Original Score/Songs 	Walt Disney Animation Studios
1995	Pocahontas 	Songs: Music/Original Score 	Walt Disney Animation Studios
1996	The Hunchback of Notre Dame 	Songs: Music/Original Score 	Walt Disney Animation Studios
1996	Aladdin and the King of Thieves 	Song: "Arabian Nights" 	Walt Disney Animation Studios
1997	Hercules 	Original Score/Songs 	Walt Disney Animation Studios
2004	Home on the Range 	Original Score Composed/Original Songs: Music	Walt Disney Animation Studios
2006	The Shaggy Dog 	Music 	Walt Disney Pictures
2007	Enchanted 	Songs/Score 	Walt Disney Pictures
2010	Tangled 	Original Score Composed/Original Songs: Music	Walt Disney Animation Studios
2011	Captain America: The First Avenger	Song: "Star Spangled Man" 	Marvel Studios
2017	Beauty and the Beast 	Songs: Music/Score 	Walt Disney Pictures
2017	Tangled: Before Ever After 	Song: "Wind in My Hair" 	Disney Television Animation
2018	Ralph Breaks the Internet 	Song: "A Place Called Slaughter Race" 	Walt Disney Animation Studios
2019	Aladdin 	Songs: Music/Score 	Walt Disney Pictures
2022	Disenchanted 	Songs: Music/Score 	Walt Disney Pictures
2023	The Little Mermaid 	Songs: Music/Score 	Walt Disney Pictures
===Television===
Year 	Series 	Position 	Subsidiary
2015-2016	Galavant 	Songs: Music/Score; Executive producer 	ABC Studios
2017-2020	Tangled: The Series	Songs: Music/Score; co-wrote with Kevin Kliesch	Disney Television Animation
==Early years==
Alan Menken was born on July 22, 1949 in New Rochelle, New York. From his early years, his parents described Alan as a "Lover of Music". He even used to fake conduct to recordings of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, etc. When the time came for him to attend college, he attended New York University, studying pre-med, but later changing his focus to music. His first professional work, with Howard Ashman, was 1979 WPA theatre of God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Three years later, he received huge success with the 1982 off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, again with Ashman, in which he received a Drama Desk nomination. Little Shop of Horrors was made into a motion picture and received a Broadway run. Alan Menken also received his first Oscar nomination with "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space".
Alan Menken is arguably best known for his work with Walt Disney Pictures since the late 1980s. During his time with the company, he received 18 Academy Award nominations and 16 Golden Globe nominations. He is seen as one of the key players in the Disney Renaissance, and is one of the two people to receive three musical nominations in the same year (Academy Awards). Doing so once for Enchanted, and once for Beauty and the Beast.
==Gallery==
Ashmanmenken200.jpg|Alan Menken with the late Howard Ashman.
Alan Menken Howard Ashman Oscar awards.jpg|Menken and Ashman receiving their Academy awards for Little Mermaid.
Ashman Menken behind scenes of BatB.jpg|Menken and Ashman behind the scenes of Beauty and the Beast.
Alan Menken at the 64th Oscars.JPG|Menken accepting his award for Best Score for Beauty and the Beast at the 64th Academy Awards.
780x463-questions-with-alan-menken 2.jpg|Alan Menken working with Tim Rice on Aladdin.
Alan menken and tim rice at the 65th Oscars.JPG|Menken and Rice receiving an Academy Award for the song "A Whole New World".
music menken schwartz big.jpg|Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz receiving their Academy Awards.
MENKEN ZIPPEL.jpg|Alan Menken with David Zippel behind the scenes of Hercules.
Alan-Menken-Glenn-Slater-alan-menken-16290938-400-320.jpg|Alan Menken with Glenn Slater.
Alan Menken & Glenn Slater Donna Murphy .jpg|Alan Menken and Glenn Slater supervising Donna Murphy's recording session.
Alan Menken and Jack Feldman at the 66th Tony Awards.JPG|Jack Feldman and Menken accepting the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Newsies.
==External links==
*
es:Alan Menken
ja:アラン・メンケン
nl:Alan Menken
pt-br:Alan Menken
sr-el:Alan Menken
Category:Males
Category:1940s births
Category:Musicians
Category:Composers
Category:People from New York
Category:American people
Category:The Little Mermaid
Category:Beauty and the Beast
Category:Aladdin
Category:Pocahontas
Category:The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
Category:Hercules
Category:Home on the Range
Category:Enchanted
Category:Tangled
Category:Disney Legends
Category:Disney Renaissance
Category:Annie Award Winner
Category:Annie Award Nominated
Category:Newsies
Category:King David
Category:Wreck-It Ralph
Category:Sister Act
Category:Marvel people
Category:Captain America
Category:Marvel Cinematic Universe people
Category:The Shaggy Dog
Category:Jewish people
Category:ABC
Category:Galavant