The Danny Elfman Story: Music to Their Ears

A diehard Danny Elfman fan, I was shocked that the Los Angeles Times Magazine (or anyone, for that matter) would actually take the time to write about this oft-ignored musical genius (“Settling the Score,� by John M. Glionna, April 18). Elfman deserves his place in history along with Maurice Jarre, Bernard Herrman and John Williams as one of the finest film composers of American cinema. (I plan to study film when I graduate from Mira Costa High School next year.) The day that Elfman retires from scoring will be the day that film loses one of its most important players.

Aurora Wibberley

Hermosa Beach

*

Danny Elfman has long been an inspiration to me. I have followed his music for many years and I’ve always wondered why one of the greatest composers of our time has never received any recognition. Thanks for the informative and interesting article.

Gabriel Carrillo

Whittier

*

I enjoyed your article on Danny Elfman, one of my favorite movie composers. I want to point out, though, that the skull pictured on Page 12, which Elfman calls Fred, is not a dinosaur, as was noted in the caption. Fred is the skull of a brontothere. Brontotheres were hoofed mammals related to horses, rhinos and tapirs. These herbivores lived long after the dinosaurs, from about 50 million to 35 million years ago, in North America and Asia. They were common in their heyday and may have lived in large herds. Some species, such as brontotherium and brontops, grew to be as large as rhinos. There is a nice skeleton of a brontothere in the natural history museum in Exposition Park.

David A. Lathrap

San Diego