James Horner, the Hollywood composer who wrote the background score for the Oscar-winning film hit Titanic, died in a California plane crash. Horner was aged 61.
According to the BBC, Horner, himself a trained pilot, was alone aboard a small private plane which crashed north of Santa Barbara on Monday morning.
The two-time Oscar winner worked on three James Cameron films, as well as A Beautiful Mind, Troy and Apollo 13.
He won one Oscar for the Titanic film score and another for its theme song.
Horner’s personal assistant, Sylvia Patrycja, wrote on Facebook saying, “We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart, and unbelievable talent. He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road.”
The musician shared his second Oscar with lyricist Will Jennings for best original song, My Heart Will Go On, sung by Celine Dion.
Horner was nominated for a further eight Oscars, for scores and songs for the films Avatar, House of Sand and Fog, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Field of Dreams, An American Tail and Aliens.