Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Oscar-Winning ‘Finding Neverland’ Composer, Dies at 71

Polish composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, who won a 2005 Oscar for the musical score of Finding Neverland, died on Tuesday (May 21). He was 71.

Kaczmarek’s death was announced by Poland’s Music Foundation, which had been informed of his passing by the composer’s wife. Kaczmarek had suffered from MSA, a rare degenerative neurological disorder.

He composed music for movies made in Europe and Hollywood, like 1995’s Total Eclipse with Leonardo DiCaprio and 2002’s Unfaithful starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane.

Global fame came when he won the Oscar for best original score with the biographical fantasy Finding Neverland, inspired by the life of author J.M. Barrie, starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet.

Born in Poland in 1953, Kaczmarek wanted to be a diplomat and studied law, but a brief association with the avant-garde theater of Jerzy Grotowski set him on the musical career.

In 1989, he settled in Los Angeles, but toward the end of his life lived in Krakow in southern Poland.

He is survived by his second wife, Aleksandra Twardowska-Kaczmarek, and five children.