Randy Newman


Composer

About

Also Known As
Randall Stuart Newman
Birth Place
Los Angeles, California, USA
Born
November 28, 1943

Biography

Singer-songwriter-film composer Randy Newman had been one of the most oft-nominated individuals at the Academy Awards without ever having won - that is, until he finally took home the award for his original song, "If I Didn't Have You" from "Monsters, Inc." (2001). Prior to courting the Oscars, Newman had been a popular writer of novelty songs that were both sardonic and catchy throughou...

Family & Companions

Roswitha Newman
Wife
Had two; survived him.
Roswitha Newman
Wife
Boutique owner. Married in 1967; divorced in 1989; German; mother of Newman's three oldest sons; after divorce married architect Don Boss.
Gretchen Newman
Wife
Survived her.
Gretchen Newman
Wife
Receptionist. Second wife; born c. 1960; married in October 1990; mother of Newman's two younger children.

Notes

There is a Web site at www.randynewman.com

Because his father was in the US Army between 1944-46, the family moved frequently, living in New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama. As a result, Newman's birthplace is often mistakenly said to be New Orleans.

Biography

Singer-songwriter-film composer Randy Newman had been one of the most oft-nominated individuals at the Academy Awards without ever having won - that is, until he finally took home the award for his original song, "If I Didn't Have You" from "Monsters, Inc." (2001). Prior to courting the Oscars, Newman had been a popular writer of novelty songs that were both sardonic and catchy throughout the 1960s and 1970s. One of his most famous was "Short People," which became his biggest hit. Though he had his start writing songs and themes for television and film, Newman would not be officially associated with scoring movies until he wrote the music for "Ragtime" (1981), which deviated wildly from his sarcastic ditties from a decade prior. Newman would go on to score the music and write songs for some of the biggest movies of the next two decades, including "The Natural" (1984), "Parenthood" (1989), "Toy Story" (1995), "A Bug's Life" (1998) and "Babe: Pig in the City" (1998). While all earned him Academy Award nominations, he became almost as famous for not winning as he did for the compositions themselves. But after 16 tries and finally winning the coveted statue, there had never been any doubt within the industry or with movie fans that Newman was one of the most revered and prolific film songwriters of all time.

Born on Nov. 28, 1942 in Los Angeles, CA, Newman was raised by his father, Irving, a musician-turned-doctor, and his mother, Adele, a secretary. Hailing from a family of motion picture composers - which included his uncles Alfred Newman, Emil Newman and Lionel Newman - he grew up surrounded by both music and Hollywood, which led to piano lessons at age six. Uncle Alfred was the most successful of the three, having scored some of the biggest films in Hollywood history, including "City Lights" (1931), "Wuthering Heights" (1939), "How Green Was My Valley" (1941), "All About Eve" and "Airport" (1970), as well as composing the famous 20th Century Fox fanfare still heard playing over the company logo. After a brief interlude living with his mother's family in New Orleans - also a hotbed of music - young Newman graduated from University High in Los Angeles. By the time he was 17, he was a contract songwriter for Metro Music, recording his first song, "They Tell Me Its Summer" (1962), for the Fleetwoods. Switching gears, Newman decided to pursue composing and arranging at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied music theory. In failing to complete a musical performance requirement, however, Newman did not graduate. But he did continue his success in the professional world, earning his first television credit for penning a saxophone instrumental for a 1962 episode of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (CBS, 1959-1963), followed by his first song for a motion picture, "Look At Me," which he co-wrote with Bobby Darin for the action drama "The Lively Set" (1964).

In 1964, Newman began a three year stint working out of the television music library at 20th Century Fox - incidentally, the studio that all of his uncles called home at one time or another - and where he penned music cues and themes for various series made by the studio, including the primetime drama "Peyton Place" (ABC, 1964-69). After signing with Reprise Records as a recording artist, Newman recorded and released his self-titled debut album, which earned critical praise but failed to break into the Billboard Top 200. Several popular artists, however, covered his songs, including "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," which became an industry standard. Though he composed the music for his first film, "Performance," in 1970, the movie was not released for another two years. In the meantime, he began touring on his own and even penned his first bona fide hit, "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (1970) for Three Dog Night. After contributing an original song to "The Pursuit of Happiness" (1971) and writing the film score for the Norman Lear comedy "Cold Turkey" (1971), Newman released more albums, including Sail Away (1972) and Good Old Boys (1974), which featured one of his all-time favorite songs, "Rednecks."

In 1977, Newman achieved a strong degree of notoriety when he released his next album, Little Criminals, which contained the surprise hit song, "Short People." With lyrics "Short people have no reason to live," Newman generated backlash from those who took the song literally, even as the song climbed the charts to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and despite the fact that the obviously satirical song was written as a condemnation of prejudice. Though he claimed the "Short People" was "one of the least controversial things I've written," the song and its songwriter forever remained infamous. Following the less-successful Born Again, Newman returned to Hollywood to compose the haunting, hypnotic waltz score for "Ragtime" (1981), which earned him his first two Academy Award nominations - one for Best Original Score and the other for Best Original Song ("One More Hour"). After another hit single, "I Love L.A.," which was part of hisTrouble in Paradise (1983) album, he earned another Oscar nod for his grand score for Barry Levinson's elegiac look at America's pastime, "The Natural" (1984), for which he won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition.

After pitching in to write the screenplay - as well as several songs - for "Three Amigos!" (1986), in which he also appeared as a singing bush, Newman suffered a personal setback when he was diagnosed as a sufferer of the physically debilitating Epstein-Barr Syndrome, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He bounced back, however, with his Oscar-nominated song, "I Love to See You Smile" for Ron Howard's "Parenthood" (1989) and his Oscar-nominated score for Barry Levinson's "Avalon" (1990), which fellow composer Hans Zimmer declared "the most beautiful American score ever written." Teaming up with Ron Howard once again, he earned yet another Academy Award nod for the song "Make Up Your Mind" for the director's media satire, "The Paper" (1994). Though that year he failed to pick up any further nods for his jaunty Western score for the Mel Gibson vehicle, "Maverick" (1994), Newman did find himself back at the Academy Awards for his song "You've Got a Friend in Me" and score for the first all computer-generated animated film, "Toy Story" (1995). He made his first foray into composing music for the theater when he wrote the music and lyrics for "Faust" (1995), which was inspired by reading G the's adaptation of the famed German legend. However, mixed reviews while performing the musical in Chicago put the project on temporary hold.

Having already been something of an institution, Newman found his niche composing music and songs for several animated films, including Tim Burton's "James and the Giant Peach" (1996), which earned him his ninth Academy Award nomination without a win. In 1998, he pulled off something that was accomplished only once before by Andre Previn in 1960, when he received Oscar nominations in three different categories: Original Musical or Comedy Score, Original Dramatic Score and Original Song for three different films - "A Bug's Life," "Pleasantville" and "That'll Do" from "Babe: Pig in the City," respectively. With the increased odds of winning, one might have safely assumed 1998 was Newman's year to finally break through. But as fate would have it, his Oscar glory would have to wait for another time. He had another shot at the title the following year for his song "When She Loved Me," which appeared in "Toy Story 2" (1999), but again he failed to make the grade. Meanwhile, following an 11-year hiatus from recording albums, he made Bad Love (1999), which found Newman returning to the biting satire that had made him famous in the 1970s.

After being nominated a 14th time for "A Fool in Love" from "Meet the Parents" (2000), Newman finally took home the coveted Oscar for his original song, "If I Didn't Have You," from the animated feature "Monsters, Inc." (2001). Beating out Sting and Paul McCartney, the "Susan Lucci of the Oscars" brought the house down when he accepted his long-desired statuette after 16 career nominations, imploring "I don't want y our pity." His total career Oscar nods pushed him ahead of Uncle Lionel's 11, though he was nowhere in the vicinity of Uncle Alfred's 45 nominations and nine wins. He was setting the pace, however, for the second generation of Newman movie composers, which included Alfred's sons David and Thomas. Meanwhile, "If I Didn't Have You" also earned him a Grammy Award, but winning the Oscar was, for him, the greatest satisfaction. Following a song for "Jurassic Park III" (2001), he wrote the music for the Oscar-nominated drama, "Seabiscuit" (2003), though no Academy Award nods came his way for those efforts. Newman settled into a nice creative groove with songs for "Kangaroo Jack" (2003), "Mr. 3000" (2004) and "Meet the Fockers" (2004) before he found himself back in Oscar contention for a 17th time for his song "Our Town," which was featured in Pixar's animated "Cars" (2006).

Following his composing the music for George Clooney's "Leatherheads" (2006), Newman joined forces again with Disney to pen the music and orchestrations for "The Princess and the Frog" (2009). Prior to that film score, he released another album after another decade-long hiatus, Harps and Angels (2008), which garnered strong critical acclaim. Meanwhile, he received yet more Oscar nominations for Best Original Song, this time for "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog." He also found himself in Emmy contention for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song "When I'm Gone" from the long-running series, "Monk" (USA Network, 2001-09). Newman was again at the top of his game after writing the music for "Toy Story 3" (2010), which not only earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Score, but also his 20th Oscar nod, this time for his Best Original Song, "We Belong Together."

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

All You Need Is Klaus (2010)
Himself
Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010)
Himself
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009)
Himself
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Leatherheads (2008)
The Pixar Story (2007)
Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times (1995)
Himself
Three Amigos! (1986)

Writer (Feature Film)

Three Amigos! (1986)
Screenplay

Music (Feature Film)

Marriage Story (2019)
Score Recording
Toy Story 4 (2019)
Music
Toy Story 4 (2019)
Song
Toy Story 4 (2019)
Song Performer
Marriage Story (2019)
Music
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018)
Song
The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
Song
Cars 3 (2017)
Music
Baby Driver (2017)
Song
The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
Song Performer
The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
Song
Baby Driver (2017)
Song Performer
The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
Music
Joy (2015)
Song
By the Sea (2015)
Song
Sex Tape (2014)
Song
Monsters University (2013)
Music
Monsters University (2013)
Song
Monsters University (2013)
Music Scoring Mixer
We Bought a Zoo (2011)
Song
We Bought a Zoo (2011)
Song Performer
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Song
Barney's Version (2010)
Song
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Music
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Original Music
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Song Performer
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Music Composer
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
Song
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Original Music
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Music Producer
My Sister's Keeper (2009)
Song
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Music
Leatherheads (2008)
Original Music
The Pixar Story (2007)
Song
The Pixar Story (2007)
Song Performer
Cars (2006)
Music Composer
Cars (2006)
Song
Domino (2005)
Song
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Music
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Original Music
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Song Performer
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Song
Mr. 3000 (2004)
Song Performer
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Music Lyrics
The Last Shot (2004)
Song
Mr. 3000 (2004)
Song
Seabiscuit (2003)
Music
Kangaroo Jack (2003)
Song Performer
Kangaroo Jack (2003)
Song
How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
Song
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Song
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Music
Jurassic Park III (2001)
Song Performer
Jurassic Park III (2001)
Song
Meet the Parents (2000)
Song Performer
Meet the Parents (2000)
Original Music
Meet the Parents (2000)
Music
Meet the Parents (2000)
Song
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Music
Ed TV (1999)
Song
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Original Music
Blast from the Past (1999)
Song
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Song
Blast from the Past (1999)
Song Performer ("Political Science")
A Bug's Life (1998)
Music
Paulie (1998)
Song
A Bug's Life (1998)
Song Performer
Pleasantville (1998)
Music
A Bug's Life (1998)
Song
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Song
You've Got Mail (1998)
Song
You've Got Mail (1998)
Song Performer
Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
Song
Volcano (1997)
Song
Cats Don't Dance (1997)
Song
G.I. Jane (1997)
Song
Bean (1997)
Song
Bean (1997)
Song Performer
Volcano (1997)
Song Performer
Michael (1996)
Original Music
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
Music
Michael (1996)
Music
Michael (1996)
Song Performer
Michael (1996)
Song
Michael (1996)
Music Conductor
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
Song
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
Original Music
Toy Story (1995)
Song Performer
Toy Story (1995)
Original Music
Toy Story (1995)
Song
Toy Story (1995)
Music
The Paper (1994)
Music
The Paper (1994)
Song
Forrest Gump (1994)
Song
The Little Rascals (1994)
Song
Maverick (1994)
Song
The Paper (1994)
Song Performer
Maverick (1994)
Song Performer
Maverick (1994)
Music
The Little Rascals (1994)
Song Performer
Forrest Gump (1994)
Song Performer
Malice (1993)
Song
Avalon (1990)
Music
Awakenings (1990)
Music
Her Alibi (1989)
Song Performer ("Falling In Love")
Her Alibi (1989)
Song
Parenthood (1989)
Music
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Song Performer
Shag: The Movie (1988)
Song Performer ("I'M In Love Again")
Tricks of the Trade (1988)
Song
Beaches (1988)
Song
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Song
Surrender (1987)
Song Performer
Overboard (1987)
Song
Overboard (1987)
Song Performer
Surrender (1987)
Song
Harry And The Hendersons (1987)
Song
Harry And The Hendersons (1987)
Song Performer
April Fool's Day (1986)
Song ("Mama Told Me (Not To Come)")
Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Song
9 1/2 Weeks (1986)
Song
Mr. Love (1986)
Song ("Naked Man")
Fatherland (1986)
Song Performer ("Guilty")
Fatherland (1986)
Song
Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Song Performer
Three Amigos! (1986)
Song
After Hours (1985)
Song
Darlin' Clementine (1985)
Theme Song Performer
Huey Long (1985)
Additional Music
The Natural (1984)
Music
Love and Money (1982)
Song
Ragtime (1981)
Music
The Life and Assassination of the Kingfish (1977)
Song Performer
Cold Turkey (1971)
Music
The Pursuit of Happiness (1971)
Composer
Cold Turkey (1971)
Composer
Performance (1970)
Music Director
Tony Rome (1967)
Composer
The Lively Set (1964)
Composer

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

All You Need Is Klaus (2010)
Other
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009)
Other
Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times (1995)
Other

Cast (Special)

The People Speak (2009)
The 73rd Annual Academy Awards (2001)
Performer
The 2000 Billboard Music Awards (2000)
72nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation (2000)
Performer
Great Streets (2000)
The 71st Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1999)
Performer
Inside Hollywood: The Pictures, the People, the Academy Awards (1999)
The 1997 Miss USA Pageant (1997)
VH1 Presents the '70s (1996)
The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996)
Performer
The Hollywood Soundtrack Story (1995)
Narrator
The 67th Annual Academy Awards (1995)
Performer
For Our Children: The Concert (1993)
Rolling Stone Magazine's 20 Years of Rock 'n' Roll (1987)
Funny, You Don't Look 200 (1987)
Randy Newman at the Odeon (1983)
Host

Music (Special)

Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
Song
The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002)
Song
The 73rd Annual Academy Awards (2001)
Song Performer
72nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation (2000)
Song Performer
72nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation (2000)
Song
Sports Illustrated's 20th Century Sports Awards (1999)
Theme Music
Robert Zemeckis on Smoking, Drinking and Drugging in the 20th Century: In Pursuit of Happiness (1999)
Song
The 71st Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1999)
Song Performer
The 1997 Miss USA Pageant (1997)
Song Performer ("Louisiana")
Disney's Scott Hamilton: Upside Down (1997)
Song
The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996)
Song
The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996)
Song Performer
Music in Movies '95 (1995)
Song Performer
The 67th Annual Academy Awards (1995)
Song Performer
For Our Children: The Concert (1993)
Song Performer
Louisiana Boys: Raised on Politics (1992)
Song Performer ("Kingfish")
Diamonds on the Silver Screen (1992)
Music
The 62nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1990)
Song
The 62nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1990)
Song Performer
Funny, You Don't Look 200 (1987)
Song Performer
Funny, You Don't Look 200 (1987)
Song
Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis? (1977)
Music

Life Events

1950

Started taking piano lessons at age six

1959

Wrote first songs at age 15

1960

At age 17, became a contract song writer for Metro Music (part of Liberty)

1962

First recorded song, "They Tell Me It's Summer," a B side sung by the Fleetwoods

1962

First TV credit, penned an untitled saxophone instrumental for an episode of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (CBS)

1964

Worked at the TV music library at 20th Century Fox; wrote music cues and themes for series produced by the studio

1964

Contributed first song "Look at Me" to a Hollywood film "The Lively Set," co-written with Bobby Darin

1967

Joined Reprise Records as a recording artist

1968

Released self titled debut album, which included the song "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today"

1970

Had first U.S. hit with Three Dog Night's recording of "Mama Told Me Not to Come"

1970

Conducted music for "Performance" (film released 1972)

1971

Contributed an original song to "The Pursuit of Happiness"

1971

Wrote first film score for Norman Lear's "Cold Turkey"

1977

Had first commercial success with the song "Short People"; led to first gold record for album <i>Little Criminals</i>

1981

Composed film score for Milos Forman's "Ragtime"; received first Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Original Score and Best Song ("One More Hour")

1983

Released <i>Trouble in Paradise</i>, which included the hit single "I Love L.A."; song later used by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium

1984

Provided the lush underscore for Barry Levinson's "The Natural"; earned third Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score

1986

Co-scripted "Three Amigos!" with Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels; also wrote three songs for film and provided voice for the singing bush

1988

Released the album <i>Land of Dreams</i>

1989

Wrote the song "I Love to See You Smile" for the Ron Howard film "Parenthood"; earned Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Original Song

1990

Wrote the dramatic score to "Avalon," directed by Barry Levinson; earned fifth Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination

1994

Received Best Song Academy Award nomination for "Make Up Your Mind" from the Ron Howard film "The Paper"

1995

Provided music for first all-computer-generated animated film "Toy Story"; earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score and Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Song ("You've Got a Friend")

1995

First composition for musical theater, "Faust"; project put on hold after second production in Chicago was met with mixed reviews; wrote the book as well as music and lyrics

1996

Picked up ninth Academy Award nomination for the score to animated film "James and the Giant Peach"

1997

Fired by director Wolfgang Petersen after completing the score for "Air Force One"; work was replaced by Jerry Goldsmith's score

1998

Earned tenth Oscar nomination for Best Original Song "That'll Do" from "Babe: Pig in the City"

1998

Composed the music for "A Bug's Life" and "Pleasantville"; earned Best Original Score Academy Award nominations for both films

1999

Penned the lively score for animated sequel "Toy Story 2"; also wrote songs including "When She Loved You"; earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score

2001

Earned 14th career Academy Award nomination for the song "A Fool in Love" from "Meet the Parents"

2002

Won first Academy Award for the song "If I Didn't Have You" from animated film "Monsters, Inc."; also nominated for Best Original Score

2002

Wrote the theme song of "Monk" (USA Network) titled "It's a Jungle out There"

2003

Contributed on the soundtrack of "Seabiscuit"

2004

Wrote music for comedy sequel "Meet the Fockers"

2006

Scored animated film "Cars" and wrote the song "Our Town"; earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song

2009

Wrote music for Disney animated feature "The Princess and the Frog"; earned two Oscar nominations for Original Song for "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans"; also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Song for "Down in New Orleans"

2010

Composed score for "Toy Story 3"; earned Grammy nomination for Best Score Soundtrack

2012

Announced as an inductee into the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Family

Irving Newman
Father
Survived her.
Irving Newman
Father
Internist. Musician-turned-doctor; died of cancer in 1990.
Adele Newman
Mother
Has two others; survived him.
Adele Newman
Mother
Died c. 1988.
Alan Newman
Brother
Robert Newman
Uncle
Divorced when Powell was young; mother raised her as a single parent.
Robert Newman
Uncle
Producer, executive. Born in 1903; died in 1982.
Marc Newman
Uncle
Has two sisters and a brother.
Marc Newman
Uncle
Agent. Born in 1908; died in 1980.
Emil Newman
Uncle
Industrialist. Jewish.
Emil Newman
Uncle
Composer, conductor. Born in 1910; died in 1984; earned one Oscar nomination.
Lionel Newman
Uncle
Has four other siblings.
Lionel Newman
Uncle
Composer, conductor. Born in 1916; died in 1989; had 11 Oscar nominations, sharing the 1969 Oscar for Best Score of a Musical Picture ("Hello, Dolly!"); was Mae West's accompaniest during the 1930s.
David Newman
Cousin
Has two.
David Newman
Cousin
Composer, conductor. Born in 1954; father, Alfred Newman; received 1997 Oscar nomination for the score of "Anastasia".
Thomas Newman
Cousin
Composer. Born in 1955; father, Alfred Newman; as of 1999, has received three Oscar nominations for his music scores.
Thomas Newman
Cousin
Had two; survived him.
Maria Newman
Cousin
Composer, musician. Born c. 1962; father, Alfred Newman.
Maria Newman
Cousin
Has two adopted daughters and an adopted son; also has served as foster mother to several others.
Tim Newman
Cousin
Had two others.
Tim Newman
Cousin
Music video director. Directed video of Newman's popular "I Love Los Angeles"; also directed videos for ZZ Top.
Amos Newman
Son
Has three siblings.
Amos Newman
Son
Record company executive. Born c. 1968; mother, Roswitha Newman.
Erik Newman
Son
Had nine siblings.
Erik Newman
Son
Film executive. Born c. 1970; mother, Roswitha Newman.
John Newman
Son
Briefly married to her first husband.
John Newman
Son
Born c. 1978; mother, Roswitha Newman.
Patrick Newman
Son
Had three other.
Patrick Newman
Son
Born in 1992; mother, Gretchen Newman.
Alice Newman
Daughter
Born c. 1993; mother, Gretchen Newman.

Companions

Roswitha Newman
Wife
Had two; survived him.
Roswitha Newman
Wife
Boutique owner. Married in 1967; divorced in 1989; German; mother of Newman's three oldest sons; after divorce married architect Don Boss.
Gretchen Newman
Wife
Survived her.
Gretchen Newman
Wife
Receptionist. Second wife; born c. 1960; married in October 1990; mother of Newman's two younger children.

Bibliography

Notes

There is a Web site at www.randynewman.com

Because his father was in the US Army between 1944-46, the family moved frequently, living in New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama. As a result, Newman's birthplace is often mistakenly said to be New Orleans.

As a child, Newman had four or five operations for crossed eyes.

Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.

"I prefer making a little noise to being mellowed out. If I had to eliminate easy listening or heavy metal, I'd eliminate easy listening. If one thing had to go, I'd eliminate the sort of nice, mellow music to chew potato chips and talk to your friends by. I don't care for that too much. I like the edge to rock. Mostly, I admire people who say something." --Randy Newman quoted in Playboy, 1987.

"I know it's not the wisest thing to say when one is entering the field, but except for Stephen Sondheim and the occasional show like 'Falsettos', I don't think what's on Broadway today measures up to the past. Most television is better. To me there's no doubt about the fact that for years the best music has been rock-and-roll." --Newman to Stephen Holden in The New York Times, September 24, 1995.

"I always thought I'd do pictures. I had classical training and could do it, I thought. But, yeah, some trepidation because, I mean, they were strict. I'd have lunch at Fox where Lionel [Newman] and Jerry Goldsmith and Johnny Williams would be sitting around. I heard somebody say once, 'Oh, Beethoven's Emperor Concerto is a piece of shit.' It makes a kid a little nervous hearing that. They'd see a concert and be complaining: 'They never took the goddam mutes off.' So I'm listening to all this stuff, and my mouth drops open. It made you afraid to put a note down. Now I know, you know? Fuck it. It's just talk. As great as Johnny and Jerry are and were, there's room for others." --Newman quoted in The Hollywood Reporter Film & TV Music Special Issue, January 15, 1997.

"My uncles were kinda different in the way they dealt with how I didn't go in for their kind of Hollywood music composing careers. Emil was always supportive. Alfred mysteriously kept telling me, 'Whatever you do, keep writing songs.' Lionel was nice but he could also be rough. At a family party in the 80s, he was playing some 1930s songs, and called out to me, 'Rand? Is this song yours?' I told him it wasn't, and he answered, 'I was wondering, because it doesn't have a melody.'" --Newman to Robert Koehler, quoted in Daily Variety, July 15, 1997.

"Randy Newman should be a happy man, but he seems steeped in bitterness. He is bitter because the music he writes for the movies (like the upbeat score for 'Toy Story' and the lush orchestration for 'Ragtime') sells better, and earns more recognition, than the biting songs he writes for himself, songs like 'Short People,' 'Rednecks' and 'Lonely at the Top.'" --From The New York Times, March 22, 2002.

"It was a bigger deal than I'd have thought. I was actually touched when the orchestra stood up and the people stood up. I was surprised at how moved I was." --Newman on the response when he received the Oscar in People^, 04/15/02