Danny Elfman Biography
As Danny Elfman was growing up in the Los Angeles area, he was largely unaware of his talent for composing. It wasn't until the early 1970s that Danny and his older brother
Richard Elfman started a musical troupe while in Paris; the group "Mystic Knights of Oingo-Boingo" was created for Richard's directorial debut,
Forbidden Zone (now considered a cult classic by Elfman fans). The group's name went through many incarnations over the years, beginning with "The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo" and eventually just
Oingo Boingo. While continuing to compose eclectic, intelligent rock music for his L.A.-based band (some of which had been used in various film soundtracks, e.g.
Weird Science), Danny formed a friendship with young director
Tim Burton, who was then a fan of Oingo Boingo. Danny went on to score the soundtrack of
Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Danny's first orchestral film score. The Elfman-Burton partnership continued (most notably through the hugely-successful "Batman" flicks) and opened doors of opportunity for Danny, who has been referred to as "Hollywood's hottest film composer".
Salary
Spider-Man 2 (2004): $2,000,000
Trivia

Dated
Caroline Thompson

Uncle-in-law of
Jenna Elfman.

Uncle of
Bodhi Elfman

His older brother is director
Richard Elfman.

His mother is
Blossom Elfman, an author of children's books.

Elfman fans discuss his current and past work in the usenet group rec.music.artists.danny-elfman.

The past, present and future of Elfman and the other members of
Oingo Boingo are also discussed at alt.fan.oingo-boingo.

Wrote the score for
Black Beauty for his two daughters from a collapsed marriage. Released a solo album in 1984, So-Lo, which happened to feature most of the band members from
Oingo Boingo.

Signed a non-exclusive contract with Disney to write, produce, and direct films, while continuing to compose for Disney and other studios. [1997]

Often composes scores for
Tim Burton's films

Engaged to
Bridget Fonda (March 2003)

Claims
Bernard Herrmann as a heavy influence on many of his scores.

Owns a dachshund.

He and
Howard Shore have both formed hit bands (
Oingo Boingo and The Blues Brothers), both scored films for
Peter Jackson (
The Frighteners and
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and others), both scored films for
Tim Burton (Elfman has scored everything but
Ed Wood, which Shore scored), and both scored a Hannibal Lecter film (
Red Dragon and
The Silence of the Lambs).

Composed comic book scores from
Dick Tracy,
Darkman,
Batman,
Batman Returns,
Men in Black,
Men in Black II,
Spider-Man,
Spider-Man 2, and
Hulk.

Admires
Peter Lorre.

Was in the theater band Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo, which later morphed into
Oingo Boingo.

Son Oliver Elfman was born mid January 2005

Son-in-law of
Peter Fonda.

Brother-in-law of
Justin Fonda.

It is sometimes believed that Elfman may have been born in Amarillo, Texas, but that is, apparently, due to a joke that he once made. He was actually born in Los Angeles County, California.

Father of
Mali Elfman.
Source provided by imdb (Copyright) - The Internet Movie Database.