---
name: "John Morris"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-morris-719"
fi1m_id: "john-morris-719"
imdb_id: "nm0606657"
tmdb_id: 719
wikidata_id: "Q203188"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "18 October 1926"
died: "25 January 2018"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-26T17:49:21.910728+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Morris

## Identity

John Morris

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-morris-719
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-morris-719
- **IMDb ID:** nm0606657
- **TMDB ID:** 719
- **Wikidata ID:** Q203188
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Morris_(composer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q203188, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0606657/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/719

Composer. Born 18 October 1926 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA. Died 25 January 2018.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 18 October 1926, Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA
- **Died:** 25 January 2018
- **Active:** 1968–1987
- **Also known as:** John Leonard Morris
- **Frequently works with:** [Gene Wilder](https://film.one/person/gene-wilder.md), [Mel Brooks](https://film.one/person/mel-brooks.md), [Madeline Kahn](https://film.one/person/madeline-kahn.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 82 (1), 1980s 82 (2)
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 2, Comedy 1, History 1, Music 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $242m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Morris_(composer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q203188, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0606657/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/719

## Streaming the US now

- **Pluto TV:** [*The Producers*](https://film.one/film/the-producers.md) (82), [*Dirty Dancing*](https://film.one/film/dirty-dancing.md) (79)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

John Morris (also credited as John Leonard Morris) was an American composer of film, television and theatrical scores. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he trained at the Juilliard School and the New School. He worked extensively on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s, contributing incidental music and dance arrangements to productions including *Wildcat* (1960), *Baker Street* (1965) and *Mack & Mabel* (1974).

Morris collaborated frequently with director Mel Brooks, scoring *The Producers* (1967), *Blazing Saddles* (1974), *Young Frankenstein* (1974), *The Elephant Man* (1980) and several other films. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score for *The Elephant Man* and Best Original Song for the title song of *Blazing Saddles*. His other notable film scores include *Clue* (1985) and *Spaceballs* (1987). He died in Red Hook, New York, in 2018.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Dirty Dancing* (1987), Fi1m 79, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/dirty-dancing.md)
- *The Elephant Man* (1980), Fi1m 84, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-elephant-man.md)
- *The Producers* (1968), Fi1m 82, Original Music Composer, Music, Conductor — [page](https://film.one/film/the-producers.md)

## Complete filmography (59)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Within the Shadow of the Tree: Dark Dreams* (2010), as The Small One's Father
- *The Blackwater Lightship* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *The Lady in Question* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Murder in a Small Town* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Only Love* (1998), Original Music Composer
- *Ellen Foster* (1997), Original Music Composer
- *Fools Rush In* (1997), Supervising Sound Editor
- *With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America* (1996), series, Original Music Composer
- *The Juror* (1996), Supervising Sound Editor
- *Scarlett* (1994), series, Original Music Composer
- *Raising Cain* (1992), Supervising Sound Editor
- *Carolina Skeletons* (1991), Original Music Composer
- *Life Stinks* (1991), Original Music Composer
- *Our Sons* (1991), Original Music Composer
- *The Last to Go* (1991), Original Music Composer
- *The Last Best Year* (1990), Original Music Composer
- *Stella* (1990), Original Music Composer
- *Second Sight* (1989), Original Music Composer
- *Johnny Handsome* (1989), Sound Editor
- *Favorite Son* (1988), series, Original Music Composer
- *The Wash* (1988), Original Music Composer
- *D.O.A.* (1988), Dialogue Editor
- *The Little Match Girl* (1987), Original Music Composer
- *Ironweed* (1987), Original Music Composer
- *The Fig Tree* (1987), Original Music Composer
- *Dirty Dancing* (1987), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/dirty-dancing.md)
- *Spaceballs* (1987), Original Music Composer
- *Fresno* (1986), series, Original Music Composer
- *Haunted Honeymoon* (1986), Original Music Composer
- *Clue* (1985), Original Music Composer
- *The Doctor and the Devils* (1985), Original Music Composer
- *Johnny Dangerously* (1984), Original Music Composer
- *The Woman in Red* (1984), Original Music Composer
- *To Be or Not to Be* (1983), Original Music Composer
- *Yellowbeard* (1983), Original Music Composer
- *Ghost Dancing* (1983), Original Music Composer
- *Table for Five* (1983), Original Music Composer
- *The Electric Grandmother* (1982), Original Music Composer
- *Splendor in the Grass* (1981), Original Music Composer
- *History of the World: Part I* (1981), Original Music Composer
- *The Mating Season* (1980), Original Music Composer
- *The Elephant Man* (1980), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-elephant-man.md)
- *In God We Tru$t* (1980), Original Music Composer
- *Doctor Franken* (1980), Original Music Composer
- *The In-Laws* (1979), Original Music Composer
- *The Scarlet Letter* (1979), series, Original Music Composer
- *High Anxiety* (1977), Original Music Composer, Conductor, Orchestrator
- *The World's Greatest Lover* (1977), Original Music Composer
- *Georgia O'Keeffe* (1977), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *The Last Remake of Beau Geste* (1977), Original Music Composer
- *Silent Movie* (1976), Original Music Composer
- *The Adams Chronicles* (1976), series, Original Music Composer
- *The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother* (1975), Original Music Composer
- *Young Frankenstein* (1974), Orchestrator, Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *The Bank Shot* (1974), Original Music Composer
- *Blazing Saddles* (1974), Original Music Composer, Songs, Orchestrator
- *The Twelve Chairs* (1970), Original Music Composer
- *The Gamblers* (1970), Original Music Composer
- *The Producers* (1968), Original Music Composer, Conductor — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-producers.md)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1981: Best Original Score (nominated), for *The Elephant Man*
- 1975: Best Original Song (nominated), for *http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/4f22dbce577f2e704d2a560372ce160b*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-morris-719