R.I.P.: Norman Gimbel, Award-Winning Lyricist, Dead At 91

Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018)

Norman Gimbel, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning lyricist, has died at the age of 91, his family has announced.

Gimbel's work included Killing Me Softly with his Song - recorded by Roberta Flack (Grammy for Song of the Year in 1973) the Fugees and others - and the theme to TV series Happy Days.

He also wrote the English lyrics to the Brazilian bossa nova melody, The Girl from Ipanema.

Gimbel and writing partner Charles Fox also collaborated on Croce's "I Got a Name," released the day after the singer's death in a plane crash Sept. 20, 1973. The song served as the theme to The Last American Hero (1973), starring Jeff Bridges.

"I've always felt that lyric was among the very best from Norman's pen," Fox wrote in his 2010 biography, Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music. He noted that he and Gimbel had written more than 150 songs together over 30 years.

"Norman's lyrics have extraordinary beauty and sensitivity and understanding of the human condition," Fox wrote. "There's never a waste or [an] excessive word."

Gimbel died on 19 December at his home in Montecito, California, his son Tony Gimbel told The Hollywood Reporter.

Norman Gimbel was born in Brooklyn and began his career with music publishers David Blum and Edwin H Morris. His early successes included the lyrics to Andy Williams's 1956 hit single Canadian Sunset.

He was best known for his work in film and television, writing the songs for popular shows such as Laverne & Shirley, Wonder Woman and HR Puffnstuff.

Gimbel formed a long-term collaboration with composer Charles Fox and the two of them won a Grammy Award in 1973 for Killing Me Softly.

He and composer David Shire shared an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1979 for It Goes Like It Goes, which was sung by Jennifer Warnes in the film Norma Rae.

In 1984 Gimbel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.