Sunday, July 5, 2026

Johnny Mandel, Oscar Winning Composer of “MASH” Theme and “The Shadow of Your Smile” Dies at Age 94

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Johnny Mandel is being mourned and celebrated today. He was a prolific scorer of movies and wrote hundreds of great songs. His most famous song was “The Shadow of Your Smile,” such a classic that there are hundreds of covers of. I picked out a couple below. The song won an Oscar from the movie, “The Sandpipers.”

In 1969 Johnny took some lyrics from “MASH” director Robert Altman’s son Michael and wrote the theme song for the hit movie. JOhnny’s instrumental version became the theme for the TV show. You can hear it somewhere every day.

Johnny Mandel came in a wheel chair one year ago to the Grammy Lifetime Achievement show at the Dolby Theater. He was sharp as a tack even at age 93. It was a thrill to see him, everyone loved it. His legacy is huge. Rest in peace.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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