Oscar-Winning Music Composer Ennio Morricone Dies At 91

Ennio Morricone, one of the world's best-known and most prolific film composers, died in Rome on Monday at the age of 91. He composed the music for about 500 films, including his old childhood friend Sergio Leone's 1966 spaghetti western The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight for which he won an Oscar in 2016.

Ennio Morricone died in hospital where he was being treated for a fractured femur following a fall, according to a statement from a lawyer and family friend. A statement issued by lawyer and family friend Giorgio Assuma said Morricone "passed away in the early hours of July 6 with the comfort of his faith." He remained "fully lucid and with great dignity right until the end," the statement said.

Tributes began pouring in for the maestro soon after his death was announced. "We will remember forever and with infinite gratitude the artistic genius of maestro Ennio Morricone," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. "He made us dream, he moved us and made us think, writing unforgettable notes that will remain forever in the history of music and cinema," he said on Twitter.