Composer Marvin Hamlisch, best known for his arrangement of Scott Jopline's "The Entertainer" in "The Sting," died in Los Angeles at the age of 68 on Monday. The New Yorker is also part of an elite club to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Tony, Oscar, Golden Globe and Pulizter.
Speaking of his work on "The Sting" with the Portland Oregonian, Hamlisch said it changed the entire movie:
"That music kept the film from being a gangster movie. It set a light tone from the very start, and it was the only thing that did, if you recall. The sets were dark, the photography was dark. It was the Depression," he explained.
"But that great, light, lively Joplin music lets you know right off that the film has humor, that you're going to have fun," he added. "Later music would have been bad — swing or something from the '40s or '50s. But Joplin's music is perfect for the film. I can't imagine it without it."
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.