John Debney
John Cardon Debney is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres including comedy, horror, thriller, and action-adventure. He is a long-time collaborator of The Walt Disney Company, having written music for their films, television series, and theme parks.
Debney has been the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
Early life and education
The son of Disney Studios producer Louis Debney, John was born and raised in Glendale, California, nearby to Disney. He began guitar lessons at age six and played in rock bands in college. Debney earned his B.A. degree in Music Composition from the California Institute of Arts in 1979. Two weeks after graduating from CalArts, he got a job at copying department at Disney. One day, Buddy Baker saw him and had him arrange music that would later be used for different pavilions and rides at EPCOT Center.Career
After three years at Disney, he freelanced for television composer Mike Post. Debney furthered his hands-on training by working with Hanna-Barbera composer Hoyt Curtin. After this, Debney went on to score television projects as diverse as Disneyland, ', ', SeaQuest DSV, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The Cape, The Lazarus Man, Piggsburg Pigs!, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Doctor Who, Cagney and Lacey, Tiny Toon Adventures, The Young Riders, The New Yogi Bear Show, , Fame, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Dragon's Lair, Freshman Dorm, Pop Quiz and Dink, the Little Dinosaur, for which he won an Emmy for Best Main Title. In the early 1990s, Debney began to score indie films and Disneyland attractions. In 1991, Debney composed the music for Phantom Manor and It's a Small World in Disneyland Paris and SpectroMagic at Magic Kingdom. In 1993, he scored his first studio feature, the Disney comedy Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler.Debney has since gone on to have a career composing scores for many films including: The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Elf, Sin City, Chicken Little, Liar Liar, Spy Kids, The Scorpion King, The Princess Diaries and Predators.
Debney has also composed scores for the video games Lair and The Sims Medieval. In 2010, he composed the theme music for the Nickelodeon television series Supah Ninjas.
He composed of Disney Parks's Nighttime Spectaculars, including: World Of Color Celebrate! in Disney's California Adventure, The Magic, The Memories And You! and Celebrate The Magic in Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom and Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo Disneyland.
Filmography
Film
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Television
Video games
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result |
| 2015 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: Texas Rising | |
| 2012 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special : Hatfields & McCoys: Part 1 | |
| 2005 | Academy Award – Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: The Passion of the Christ | |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Main Title Theme Music: The Cape | |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Series : The Cape: Pilot | |
| 1994 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music: SeaQuest DSV | |
| 1991 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series : The Young Riders: Kansas | |
| 1990 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music: The Young Riders |