In Remembrance: Shirley Walker

     Shirley Walker, the composer who was the first woman to receive a sole composing credit on a Hollywood film, has passed away on November 29, 2006. She was 61.

     Born April 10, 1945 in Napa, CA, Walker studied piano at San Francisco State College. Following graduation she worked composing advertising jingles and music for industrial films. She landed her first job orchestrating on the film Children Of A Lesser God (1986). For the 1988 comedy Scrooged she orchestrated for composer Danny Elfman and stayed with him for several more films including Batman (1989), Nightbreed (1990) and Dick Tracy (1990). She also worked extensively with composer Hans Zimmer on such films as Days Of Thunder (1990), Pacific Heights (1990), Backdraft (1991) and A League Of Their Own (1992).

     Although Walker had contributed original music to a small handful of films, it was her work for the 1992 comedy Memoirs Of An Invisible Man in which she became the first woman to receive a sole composing credit for a Hollywood film. Other films she scored include the animated Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993), Escape From LA (1996), Turbulence (1997), Willard (2003) and the three Final Destination thrillers.

     Through the 1990s Walker became known for her strong action scores for various genre television series including The Flash, Space: Above And Beyond and the animated Batman and Superman series.

     Walker had just completed her score for the remake of the horror film Black Christmas which is due for release later this month.