James Horner, 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' composer, dies in plane crash

James Horner, one of Hollywood’s most prolific composers and a two-time Oscar winner for his work on Titanic, has died. He was killed in a plane crash Monday. He was 61.

News of the crash was first reported by CBS Los Angeles, which noted that the small aircraft crashed in a remote area, north of Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to the crash site around 9:30 a.m. and no survivors were found.

Early reports only noted that the plane was registered to Horner, but later, his representatives confirmed that he was the pilot.

“We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart and unbelievable talent,” Sylvia Patrycja, his assistant, wrote on Facebook, reports The Hollywood Reporter. “He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road.”

Horner 150 film scores on his resume, dating back to 1978. He was among Hollywood’s go-to composers and really launched his career with 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In 1985, he began a relationship with James Cameron, scoring Aliens. They didn’t work together again until 1997, when Horner scored Titanic. He was called in to compose the score for Avatar as well.

Horner also had a close relationship with Ron Howard, first scoring the director’s Cocoon. They worked together again on A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13.

The composer showed extraordinary range and versatility, scoring everything from horror to comedy and animated family films. His other credits include 48 Hrs., Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, Field of Dreams, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, Glory, The Pagemaster, Braveheart, Deep Impact, Jumanji, The Amazing Spider-Man and the upcoming Jake Gyllenhaal boxing movie Southpaw.

He was nominated for 10 Oscars and won two for Titanic - one for the film’s score and another for “My Heart Will Go On,” which he shared with lyricist Will Jennings. In 1996, he actually competed against himself, with nominations for both Braveheart and Apollo 13.

As Variety notes, Horner also scored the Disney World attraction Captain EO, which starred Michael Jackson, and several TV movies.