Born June 11, 1910, in New York, NY; died after a stroke, April 26, 1991, inNorthridge, CA. Musician and composer. Coppola was best known as the creatorof musical scores for movies, including The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. A 1933 graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, he later playedflute and composed and arranged music for the Radio City Music Hall orchestra. Coppola then held first flute positions with the Detroit Symphony and the NBC Symphony. After receiving his master's degree from the Manhattan School ofMusic in 1950, he worked variously as a musician, composer, and arranger fornumerous New York City stage productions, including Kismet and Stop the World--I Want to Get Off. The father of film director Francis FordCoppola and actress Talia Shire, he began working as music composer on many of his son's films. As co-composer with Nino Rota, the elder Coppola receivedthe Academy award in 1975 for Best Musical Score for The Godfather, Part II. His additional film score credits include The Black Stallion and Gardens of Stone, and he contributed music to Tucker: The Man andHis Dream and New York Stories. Coppola was also composer and conductor for live orchestra performances accompanying the restored 1927 film Napoleon, and served as the music director for the Los Angeles Civic Opera. Coppola made brief appearances in some of his son's films, including One from the Heart and New York Stories.
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