Italian composer Ennio Morricone to get honorary Oscar

Dec 14, 2006, 18:11 GMT

Los Angeles - Ennio Morricone, the prolific film composer who created music for more than 300 films movies over a 45-year career, is to be awarded an honorary Oscar, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on its website Thursday.

Morricone, 78, whose most famous motif is the coyote-howl theme from 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,' will get the coveted statuette in recognition of 'his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music,' said Academy president Sid Ganis.

Morricone has earned five Academy Award nominations for original score - for Days of Heaven (1978), The Mission (1986), The Untouchables (1987), Bugsy (1991) and Malèna (2000) - but has not previously received an Oscar.

Other memorable scores include Once upon a Time in America, Cinema Paradiso, Bulworth, In the Line of Fire, La Cage aux Folles, and Two Mules for Sister Sara.

Morricone's honorary Oscar will be presented with the other Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006, on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.