Angelo Badalamenti, American composer best known for his collaboration with director David Lynch, died on Sunday December 11 at his home in New Jersey (USA) at the age of 85. The news was published by various newspapers and websites on Monday after the family and those close to them received confirmation.
Badalamenti was born on March 22, 1937 in Brooklyn to an Italian-American family. After composing various pieces of music and soundtracks, Lynch had engaged him in 1986 with the proposal to write the music for the film Velluto Blu, in which Badalamenti himself once made a guest appearance as a pianist. A fairly productive collaboration had developed between the two, leading them to work together on the soundtrack of Twin Peaks, a 1990 television series that had become very successful over time. Badalamenti wrote the music and opening theme, and worked closely with Lynch to come up with a dark and atmospheric score for his series.
The music undoubtedly contributed to the success of Twin Peaks, which became one of the cult series and has often gone down in television history as a role model. It received numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award for the title track.