Howard Ashman is best remembered for his collaboration with the composer and lyricist, Alan Menken. Together, they are most widely known for producing the scores of several hugely successful Disney films, for which Ashman wrote the lyrics and Menken composed the music. The duo first began to work together on the musical God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1979), before hitting the big time with their next musical, Little Shop of Horrors (1982). Little Shop became a huge success and the musical was adapted into the 1986 feature film of the same name. Ashman and Menken's first Disney film was The Little Mermaid (1989), followed by Beauty and the Beast (1991). Ashman died from complications from AIDS while writing the songs for Aladdin but his work was included in the 1992 film.
Together with Alan Menken, Howard Ashman won the Academy Award for Best Original Song twice--firstly for "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid (1989) and posthumously for the title song, "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). The stage show, Beauty and the Beast, also won the 1998 Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
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