Sid Ramin, Oscar-Winning Orchestrator of West Side Story and Gypsy, Dies at 100 | Playbill

Obituaries Sid Ramin, Oscar-Winning Orchestrator of West Side Story and Gypsy, Dies at 100 The Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy winner worked on the original productions of several musicals.

Sid Ramin, the veteran composer, arranger, and orchestrator who won an Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for his orchestrations to the West Side Story movie, died July 1 at age 100 of natural causes at his home in New York City, according to Variety.

Mr. Ramin and co-orchestrator Irwin Kostal orchestrated the original 1957 Broadway production of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story; both, along with Saul Chaplin and Johnny Green, were awarded an Academy Award for their work on the 1962 film adaptation. Ramin also won a Grammy for the movie soundtrack and orchestrated the often-performed “Symphonic Dances From West Side Story.”

Mr. Ramin’s work as an orchestrator also included the original Broadway productions of Wonderful Town, Gypsy, Wildcat, I Can Get It for You Wholesale, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Smile, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, The Red Shoes, and additional orchestrations for Crazy for You.

On television, Mr. Ramin was known for writing music for All My Children, for which he earned a 1983 Daytime Emmy, as well as the theme for The Patty Duke Show. He also composed numerous well-known television jingles and ad spots, earning eight Clio Awards for his work.

Despite earning an Oscar, Grammy, and an Emmy, a Tony Award eluded Mr. Ramin, whose definitive work on West Side Story and Gypsy took place decades before the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations was created in 1997.

Sid Ramin was born January 22, 1919, in Boston, Massachusetts. He is survived by his wife, Gloria; son Ron; daughter-in-law Cathryn; and grandsons Avery and Oliver.

A memorial service will take place July 8 at 12:30 PM at Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York City.

 
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