Photo: Danny_Elfman.jpg: The Kuhnster derivative work: Electroguv (talk) / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Danny Elfman occupies a unique place in my personal pantheon: the new wave frontman who became the sound of modern cinematic whimsy. What impresses me is not just the famous themes but the consistency of his musical fingerprint, playful, gothic, slightly unhinged, across decades of film and television scoring. A largely self-taught composer out of Los Angeles outworking the conservatory crowd is a story I will always root for. The Grammy, the Emmys, and the Disney Legends honor confirm what the ear already knows. Past seventy, he still writes, sings, and performs like a man with something to prove. That restlessness is the real legacy.
Overview
Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Danny Elfman
- Name (Japanese)
- ダニー・エルフマン
- Reading
- だにー・えるふまん
- Born
- May 29, 1953 (age 73)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Snake
- Origin
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- singer / composer / actor / record producer / film score composer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- University High School
- University
- University High School
Awards & achievements
- 2015 Disney Legends
- 2005 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
- 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction
- 2023 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
- 1990 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Singer — see all → · Composer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.