Will Jennings, the Oscar-winning co-writer behind hits like “My Heart Will Go On” and “Tears in Heaven,” has died. He was 80.
Jennings died Friday morning at his home in Tyler, Texas, his caregiver, Martha Sherrod, said. The Hollywood ReporterHis health had been declining for five or six years, he said.
The lyricist was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006, nearly 10 years after winning his second Oscar for Celine Dion Titanic song “My Heart Will Go On”; he shared credit with his frequent collaborator James Horner.
Previously, he had won his first Oscar, alongside Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, for An Officer and a Gentleman“Up Where We Belong” in 1983. He was first nominated with Lalo Schifrin in 1981's “People Alone” by The competitionIn addition to two Oscars, he has also won three Grammys and two Golden Globes, among a host of other awards.
He began his Hollywood career in 1976 and in 1977 collaborated with composer Richard Kerr to write Barry Manilow's hit “Looks Like We Made It.” The duo reunited for the artist's top 10 hit “Somewhere in the Night” two years later.
In the early 1990s, Jennings also collaborated with Eric Clapton to write “Tears in Heaven,” from the 1991 film, RushThe song was nominated for a Golden Globe and won Song of the Year at the Grammys.
Wilbur H. Jennings was born in Kilgore, Texas on June 27, 1944. Before embarking on a career in Hollywood, he was a professor at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, and then at Austin State University, before teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for three years.
Throughout his career as a lyricist, he has written for many artists, including Whitney Houston, BB King, Mariah Carey, Jimmy Buffett, Joe Sample, Rodney Crowell, Roy Orbison and others. He has collaborated with Steve Winwood on several albums, such as Arc of a Diver, Answer the Night AND Back to the good life.
He collaborated with Carey and Horner to write the central song in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, “Where Are You Christmas?”, sung by a character in the film and by Faith Hill at the end. Jennings and Horner also wrote a song for A wonderful mind.
Survivors include his wife Carole and sisters Joyce and Gloria.
Mike Barnes contributed to this report.