Will Jennings, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind such mega-hits as “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic” and “Tears in Heaven,” has died at the age of 80, his talent agency confirmed to CBS News.
“May his memory be a blessing,” Sam Schwartz of The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc., told CBS News Sunday.
No cause of death has been announced, although several reports indicate he had been ill for some time.
Stephen Lovekin/WireImage for the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Jennings was born in Kilgore, Texas, on June 27, 1944, the youngest of three children. Before pursuing a career in Hollywood, he taught at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, then at Austin State University, before teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for three years.
Throughout his career, the lyricist has written for a variety of artists, including Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton, BB King, Mariah Carey, Jimmy Buffet, Barry Manilow and Roy Orbison.
He received two Oscars for co-writing the iconic themes for “Titanic” — recorded by Celine Dion — and “An Officer and a Gentleman” alongside Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
He won a Golden Globe for best original song and Grammys for record of the year and song of the year for “Tears in Heaven” — performed by Clapton — from the film “Rush.”
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Jennings was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.
Musician Peter Wolf paid tribute to the lyricist in a social media post, writing: “‘A Lot of Good Ones Gone’… A sad time, the passing of Will Jennings, a maestro, a brilliant mind and a gentle spirit. Will shared his talents with me, always patient and generous, he was a treasured friend and teacher, enriching my life in so many ways. It was a great honor to have worked with such a musical genius for so many years… To quote one of his favorite poets, WB Yeats, ‘Think where the glory of man most begins and ends, and say that my glory was that I had such friends.'”
Jennings is survived by his wife, Carole, and his sisters, Joyce and Gloria.
