Marvin Hamlisch came from a musical family, and his influences very well reflects in his brilliant compositions. Marvin Hamlisch was born on June 2, 1944. By the age of five he began mimicking music he listened on the radio on the piano. By the age of seven in 1951, he was accepted to the Juilliard School, being the youngest person to be enrolled. Due to anxiety issues he avoided pursuing a career as a concert pianist rather he preferred composing. And his interest was specifically for film and theater. He landed his first job as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. Subsequently he was employed by the renowned producer, Sam Spiegel to play piano at Spiegel's parties. This impressive performance achieved him his first film, The Swimmer.

His first hit came when he was 21 years old. Lesley Gore, in the form of Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows, acted this song. Although he composed for several other films, he achieved his worldwide fame only after composing for, The Swimmer in 1965. Subsequently he composed for some of Woody Allen's early films, including Take the Money and Run. In addition, Hamlisch co-wrote the song "California Nights" along with Howard Liebling. Lesley Gore took on this song on her 1967 hit album titled the same. The song peaked on the pop charts at number 16. And Marvin's popularity got another boost.

The 1970s is marked as being his peak period as a composer. The most notable works he did during this period were adaptations of Scott Joplin's ragtime music for the motion picture The Sting, including its theme song, "The Entertainer". He achieved two of his three 1974 Academy Awards for, The Way We Were. "Nobody Does It Better" the 1977 James Bond film was composed by him. He also worked on an orchestral/disco score for the film, which was rerecorded for an album. The song was nominated for an Oscar in 1977. Later his career slowed but soon in the 1980s he had again secured fame with the scores for Ordinary People (1980) and Sophie's Choice (1982). He also received an Academy Award nomination in 1986 for a song in the film version of A Chorus Line.

Presently, he is Principal Pops Conductor for some of the notable Orchestras, such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony. To his credits are also all four major US performing awards, being one of the nine till date. These honors include Emmy Award, Grammy Award, the Oscar and Tony Award. He is also one among the only two who have won all four of those plus a Pulitzer Prize. He has achieved the highest peak of popularity. And 2007 gets him another star added to his sparkling career, he would be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. This year he also achieved the honored Q Award, presented to Queens College alumni who have functioned as role models for the college.