Lennie Niehaus

Lennie Niehaus was an American musician and composer.

The West Coast alto-saxophonist earned his degree in music education from Cal State Los Angeles and played with Stan Kenton's band before writing musical scores for Hollywood.

He began orchestrating for film composer Jerry Fielding on features such as Straw Dogs (1971), The Gambler (1974), and The Bad News Bears (1976).

Niehaus went on to work on more than 24 films with Clint Eastwood including The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Escape From Alcatraz (1979), Pale Rider (1985), Bird (1988), Unforgiven (1992), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Space Cowboys (2000), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004), and Gran Torino (2008).

He also contributed to Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), Follow That Bird (1985), and Back to School (1986).

In television, Niehaus orchestrated the comedy Hogan's Heroes and composed music for Faerie Tale Theatre and True Colors. He won a Primetime Emmy in 1994 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or Special for his work on Lush Life.

Niehaus died May 28, 2020, in Redlands, California. He was 90.