Lalo Schifrin

A jazz pianist in Buenos Aires, he played with Dizzy Gillespie before settling in the United States. In 1966 he wrote the theme for the series Mission: Impossible, in five-four time. He scored Bullitt and Cool Hand Luke and worked for years with Clint Eastwood on the Dirty Harry films. In 2018 he received an honorary Oscar from Eastwood. He died in June 2025, aged 93.

Style

Jazz, Latin rhythms and electric bass with thriller tension.

Awards

Honorary Oscar (2018). Several Grammys, two of them for the Mission: Impossible theme.

Discography

• Les Félins (Joy House) (1964) Spotify
• The Cincinnati Kid (1965) Spotify · Apple Music
• Cool Hand Luke (1967) Spotify · Apple Music
• Mannix (TV series) (1967) Spotify · Apple Music
• Mission: Impossible (TV series) (1967) Spotify · Apple Music
• Bullitt (1968) Spotify · Apple Music
• The Fox (1968) Spotify
• The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1968) Spotify · Apple Music
• Che! (1969) Spotify · Apple Music
• The Mask of Sheba (1970) Spotify
• Dirty Harry (1971) Spotify · Apple Music
• The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971) Spotify · Apple Music
• Enter the Dragon (1973) Spotify · Apple Music
• Magnum Force (1973) Spotify · Apple Music
• Sky Riders (1976) Spotify
• The Eagle Has Landed (1976) Spotify · Apple Music
• Rollercoaster (1977) Spotify · Apple Music
• Boulevard Nights (1979) Spotify · Apple Music
• The Amityville Horror (1979) Spotify
• The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979) Spotify · Apple Music
• Caveman (1981) Spotify · Apple Music
• La pelle (1981) Spotify
• The Competition (1981) Spotify
• Sudden Impact (1983) Spotify · Apple Music
• The Osterman Weekend (1983) Spotify · Apple Music
• Black Widow (1987) Spotify
• The Fourth Protocol (1987) Spotify
• The Dead Pool (1988) Spotify
• Return from the River Kwai (1989) Spotify · Apple Music
• Rush Hour (1998) Spotify · Apple Music
• Something to Believe In (1998) Spotify
• Rush Hour 2 (2001) Spotify · Apple Music
• Abominable (2006) Spotify · Apple Music
• Rush Hour 3 (2007) Spotify · Apple Music

"Spotify" and "Apple Music" open the album directly on each platform; if only Spotify appears, we have not yet been able to check that album on Apple Music. "Search Spotify" opens an album search for that title. If a link does not lead to the right album, write to [email protected]. "Album" marks the year of that album edition when it differs from the film's.

Listen

• Mission: Impossible Theme · Mission: ImpossibleSpotifyApple MusicYouTube
• Bullitt Main Title · BullittSpotifyApple MusicYouTube
• Enter the Dragon Main Title · Enter the DragonSpotifyApple MusicYouTube

Full biography on Wikipedia