Robbie Robertson and director Martin Scorsese first worked together in 1976 for the filming of The Band's final concert, The Last Waltz, which opened in theaters in 1978.
Since then, Robertson worked on the music for 13 Scorsese films including Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, The Color of Money, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Wolf of Wall Street, Irishman, and his latest, Killers of the Flower Moon, which finally earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.
Scorsese commented on the nomination of his former roommate, saying, “I only wish that Robbie Robertson had lived to see his work recognized -- our many years of friendship and Robbie’s growing consciousness of his own Native heritage played a crucial role in my desire to get this film onscreen.”
Robertson, whose mother was Cayuga and Mohawk, was raised in Toronto on the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve. He is the first indigenous person ever to be nominated in the Original Score category.
Robertson died on August 9th from prostate cancer. He was 80.
The Academy Awards will be held on March 10th in Los Angeles.