R.I.P.: Lalo Schifrin, Composer Of 'Mission Impossible' and 'Dirty Harry'

Lalo Schifrin, the legendary Argentine-American composer, pianist, and conductor, died on June 26, 2025, at the age of 93 in Beverly Hills, California. According to multiple reports, the cause of death was complications from pneumonia. His son, Ryan Schifrin, confirmed he passed away peacefully.

Born Boris Claudio Schifrin on June 21, 1932, in Buenos Aires, Schifrin was renowned for his genre-defining work, blending jazz, classical, and Latin American influences into unforgettable film and television scores. 

His most famous composition, the Mission: Impossible theme, with its distinctive 5/4 time signature, became a cultural touchstone, instantly evoking espionage and suspense. He also crafted iconic scores for films like Dirty Harry (1971), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Bullitt (1968), Enter the Dragon (1973), and the Rush Hour trilogy, as well as TV themes for Mannix and Starsky & Hutch.

Schifrin’s career spanned over seven decades, earning him six Academy Award nominations for Best Score (Cool Hand Luke, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror, The Competition, and The Sting II) and a Best Song nomination for The Competition. In 2018, he received an Honorary Oscar, presented by Clint Eastwood, with whom he collaborated on eight films, including the Dirty Harry series. Schifrin won four Grammy Awards out of 19 nominations, with two for his Mission: Impossible work, and was nominated for four Emmys. He also earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1988.

Raised in a musical family—his father was concertmaster of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic—Schifrin studied classical music in Argentina and at the Paris Conservatory, while secretly indulging in banned American jazz records. His jazz passion led to a pivotal meeting with Dizzy Gillespie in 1956, prompting his move to the U.S. in 1958, where he became a prominent arranger and composer. His innovative approach, merging jazz with orchestral techniques, redefined film scoring in the 1960s and ‘70s, making him a trailblazer in Hollywood.