Sir Tim Rice
In a theater and film career spanning more than 40 years, British lyricist Tim Rice has lent his considerable talents to a number of blockbuster musicals, including “Evita,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The Lion King.”
With his frequent collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rice made a lasting imprint on the musical genre both on the West End and Broadway.
Rice began his career at EMI Records in London, where he worked as a management trainee, but he quickly jumped to the world of musical theater. In 1965, he met Lloyd Webber, and the two worked on an ill-fated musical called “The Likes of Us” that was unable to find a backer.
The pair followed up with two Bible-themed hits, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” both of which eventually found their way to Broadway. Rice received his first Tony Award nomination in 1972 for cowriting the score to “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
In 1978, “Evita” debuted on the West End and opened on Broadway the next year. The musical about the controversial wife of Argentina’s Juan Peron won multiple Tonys, with Rice claiming two awards for his book and for cowriting the score with Lloyd Webber.
During the '80s, Rice worked on a number of less successful musicals, including “Chess” (with ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus) and “Blondel,” with composer Stephen Oliver.
Rice’s songwriting has won him three Academy Awards for Disney’s “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” (working with Alan Menken and Elton John, respectively), as well as the 1996 film adaptation of “Evita.”
On Broadway, Rice worked with Disney on the stage version of “The Lion King” and the original musical “Aida,” for which Rice won his third Tony for cowriting the score.
Rice was made a knight of the British empire in 1994. He has two children from his former marriage to Jane McIntosh.
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Points of interest
Academy Awards
| Year | Category | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Best Original Song | "A Whole New World" from Aladdin | Win* |
| 1994 | Best Original Song | "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King | Win* |
| 1994 | Best Original Song | "Circle of Life" from The Lion King | Nomination* |
| 1994 | Best Original Song | "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King | Nomination* |
| 1996 | Best Original Song | "You Must Love Me" from Evita | Win* |
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