Tribute to Marvin Hamlish Planned at McCallum

Broadway performers, including Lucille Ball's daughter, will pay tribute to late composer Marvin Hamlisch at the McCallum Theatre later this month.

The concert is scheduled for Jan. 21, the date Hamlisch had been scheduled to perform at the Palm Desert venue. Hamlisch died Aug. 6 in Los Angeles at age 68 after a brief illness.

"Marvin Hamlisch: A Celebration of His Life and Music," will feature Ball's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, and Broadway singers Jason Graee, Christiane Noll, Lillias White and Karen Ziemba, according to the McCallum.

Hamlisch, who performed at the McCallum several times, was best known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning "A Chorus Line" and the scores to the films "The Sting" and "The Way We Were."

Sometimes called the "people's composer," Hamlisch won three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys and a Tony, along with a Pulitzer Prize. He is one of only 12 people to have won Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and a Tony, and one of only two to have won those four prizes plus a Pulitzer.

He scored more than 40 movies, among them "The Way We Were," the theme for "The Sting" and musical contributions to "Sophie's Choice," "Ordinary People," "The Spy Who Loved Me," "Ice Castles" and "The Informant."

On Broadway, Hamlisch wrote the music for his groundbreaking show, "A Chorus Line," which won nine Tony Awards, as well as the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Hamlisch was born in New York City and before he turned 7, he became the youngest student ever accepted into the Julliard School of Music. He became the rehearsal pianist for "Funny Girl," starring Barbra Streisand. In 1968, he was hired by producer Sam Spiegel to play piano at Spiegel's parties, which led to Hamlisch's first film score, for 1968's "The Swimmer."

Hamlisch was principal pops conductor for several symphonies and served as musical director and arranger of Streisand's 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England, and television special "Barbra Streisand: The Concert."

At the time of his death, Hamlisch was working on a film project about Liberace, starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert range in price from $45 to $95 and are available by calling (760) 340-2787 or going to www.mccallumtheatre.com.