Daniel Robert Elfman known as Danny Elfman was born on May 29, 1953 in Amarillo, Texas. He grew up in Los Angeles until he moved to France with his brother when he was 18. Her mother Blossom Elfman was a teacher and writer and her father Milton was a teacher and was also in the Air Force. His brother Robert is a filmmaker. He was married to Bridget Fonda on November 29, 2003 and directed one of his films in 1997. He has three children Lola born in 1979, Mali born in 1984 and Oliver born in 2005. When he went with his brother in France he performed with an avant-garde musical theater group known as Le Grand Magic Circus. He then decided to travel through Ghana, Mali and Upper Volta in Africa to discover new musical styles that would influence his own style. In Africa, he contracted malaria. When he finally returned to the United States, he began studying at CalArts even though he wasn't actually a student there. In 1972, Richard Elfman founded a group known as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo which was a new wave group when he left the group. become a filmmaker. In 1976 Danny took over the band until they retired in 1995. They were then simply called Oingo Boingo in 1979 they were a ska influenced new wave band until they changed styles again in the 80s and became more guitar rock. They were known for their Halloween themes and sold out every Halloween concert they performed. One of their most popular songs played on several radio stations each year for Halloween is "Dead Man's Party". In 1985, Tim Burton and Paul Reubens asked Danny Elfman to write music for their film Pee-wee's Big Adventure. At the time he had no formal training but sought help from Steve Bartek, Oin's guitarist and arranger...... middle of paper ...... of the 24. Nominated for 2 British Academy Film Awards and didn't win either, same for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards. Nominated for 4 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and won none. Nominated for 2 Emmy Awards, he won one. Nominated for 2 Golden Globes, he won neither time. Nominated for 11 Grammy Awards winning once. Nominated for 1 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards, it did not win. Nominated for 6 Satellite Awards won once. Nominated for 12 Saturn Awards, won 5. Nominated for 2 Sierra Awards, once. Nominated for 2 World Soundtrack Awards, it won neither time. He has been nominated for a total of 75 awards and won 33. Works Cited Barnes & Noble Biography: http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/biography.asp?CTR=68216Encylopedia.com:http:// www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Danny_Elfman.aspxMusic for a dark theater