Oscar Nominated Composer George Fenton Dies at Age 76

British composer George Fenton, who earned five Academy Award nominations for his film scores and wrote iconic television themes, has died at the age of 76.

FTMQ Books, written by our newsroom6 October 2026 at 00:041 view

The British film and television composer George Fenton has died at the age of 76, BBC News and SuaraGarut.ID reported. His family announced his death in a statement. [1][2][3]

Fenton earned five Oscar nominations during his career, including nods for his work on The Remains of the Day and Cry Freedom, BBC News reported. He also composed music for feature films such as Gandhi, Groundhog Day and The Fisher King. [1]

In television, Fenton earned Bafta, Emmy and Ivor Novello awards for his score to the BBC nature documentary series Blue Planet, BBC News reported. He also soundtracked Planet Earth and Bergerac, and composed theme music for BBC News programmes including Newsnight and Breakfast Time. [1]

Fenton was born George Hawes on 19 October 1949 in Bromley, Kent. He adopted his mother's surname in 1968 to secure an Actors' Equity card, and went on to become a Fellow of the Ivors Academy. [5][7]

George Fenton has died at the age of 76.
He received five Oscar nominations for his film scores.
Fenton composed scores for Gandhi, Groundhog Day, and Blue Planet.

Sources

Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.

[1]Blue Planet and Gandhi composer George Fenton dies aged 76BBC News Entertainment & Arts, 1h ago (the report this story comes from)
[2]The Blue Planet and Gandhi composer George Fenton dies aged 76BBC, 3h ago
[3]Oscar-Nominated Composer George Fenton Dies at 76SuaraGarut.ID, 1h ago

Background

[4]The Blue Planet on Wikipedia
[5]George Fenton on Wikipedia
[6]Deaths in 2026 on Wikipedia
[7]George Fenton on Grokipedia

Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 7 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.

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