Will Jennings, an Oscar-winning writer behind mega-hits like “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie “Titanic” and “Tears in Heaven”, died at the age of 80, his talent agency confirmed to CBS News.
“May his memory be a blessing,” Sam Schwartz with The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc., told CBS News on Sunday.
No cause of death was announced, although multiple reports say he had been ill for some time.
Stephen Lovekin/WireImage for Songwriter’s Hall of Fame
Jennings was born in Kilgore, Texas on June 27, 1944 — the youngest of three children. Before pursuing a career in Hollywood, he was a professor at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, and then at Austin State University, before teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for three years.
Throughout his career, the lyricist wrote for a variety of artists including Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Mariah Carey, Jimmy Buffet, Barry Manilow and Roy Orbison.
He received two Oscars for co-writing the iconic themes for “Titanic” — which was recorded by Celine Dion — and for “An Officer and a Gentleman” alongside Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
He won a Golden Globe for best original song and Grammys for record of the year and song of the year for “Tears in Heaven” — performed by Clapton” — from the movie “Rush.”
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Jennings was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.
Musician Peter Wolf paid tribute to the lyricist in a social media post, writing, “‘A Lot of Good Ones Gone’ … A sad time, the passing of Will Jennings, a maestro, brilliant mind and a gentle spirit. Will shared his talents with me, ever patient and generous, he was a treasured friend and teacher, enriching my life in so many ways. It was an enormous honor to have worked with such a musical genius for so many years …To quote one of his favorite poets, W.B Yeats,’Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends.'”
Jennings is survived by his wife, Carole, and his sisters, Joyce and Gloria.