Oscar-nominated composer Richard Rodney Bennett dies

London: Oscar-nominated composer Richard Rodney Bennett has died at the age of 76. Bennett, who was a Brit, passed away peacefully on Christmas Eve in his adopted home city of New York, reported The Guardian. Born in Kent on March 29, 1936, Bennett was a composer of classical and jazz works in addition to film scores, and regularly performed as a jazz pianist. His score for Sidney Lumet`s Murder on the Orient Express won a Bafta in 1974, and was also nominated for an Academy Award. Bennett`s scores for Far From the Madding Crowd and Nicholas and Alexandra also received Oscar nominations, and his other compositions for film include Enchanted April and Four Weddings and a Funeral. His TV work ranges from early Doctor Who serial The Aztecs to Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Christopher Lee`s 2000 miniseries Gormenghast. Bennett was honoured with a CBE in 1977, and received a knighthood in 1998. PTI