As a young boy, as a teenager, I often felt alone. Call me an old soul, call me an outsider, call me wise beyond my years - I didn't relate well to kids my own age. I often turned to Hollywood for solace.
A number of films from the 1980s and 90s served as a porthole into worlds that were rife with struggle and pain that would ultimately be resolved through the morality and virtue of their characters. Characters that spoke to a lonely, albeit misunderstood, kid; telling him indirectly that the world is a far bigger place, filled with an array of people who championed their peers in the face of strife, than the school he spent his days.
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Academy Award-winning composer James Horner scored many of these films: 'Glory', 'Apollo 13', and 'Braveheart' - to name a few.
Many a night I would stare out my bedroom window, looking at the stars, listening to Horner's music, feeling hopeful and empowered.
Hearing of his untimely death last night, I again looked to the stars, listened to his music, and felt hopeful and empowered and, now, melancholy.
Of all the beautiful film scores he composed, 'Apollo 13' has always held a special place. Just days ago, I produced an interview for 'Larry King Now' with one of the film's stars, Bill Paxton. I shared with him how it had comforted me in my youth. Listening to it now, I am certain that not only did it comfort me, it helped raise me - in more ways than one.
Below are selections of Horner's work that so often helped to prop up my spirits as a child and that today, as an adult, still have the power to inspire me. I am surely not the only one. Thank you, James...
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