Death & Obituary: Emil Richards has died at the age of 87. He passed away Saturday, December 14, 2019.
Emil Richards is a legendary percussionist. He started playing the xylophone at a very young age of 6. In high school he performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
We learnt about the passing of Emil Richards through a Tweet by Michael Giacchino;
“Yesterday we lost one of my favorite musicians. I listened to his work as a kid and was lucky enough to have him on almost every one of my film scores and countless episodes of LOST. As a percussionist he was the best. As a human, he was even better. I love you Emil Richards!”
“LA legendary percussionist Emil Richards passed away yesterday at age 87. He performed literally in thousands of film score recordings, including many by John Williams (such as Close Encounters, Jaws, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Jurassic Park). RIP.”
LA legendary percussionist Emil Richards passed away yesterday at age 87. He performed literally in thousands of film score recordings, including many by John Williams (such as Close Encounters, Jaws, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Jurassic Park). RIP https://t.co/vmfKQtMpIe
— The Legacy of John Williams (@TheLegacyofJW) December 15, 2019
He studied with Al Lepak at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, graduating in 1952. After being drafted, he belonged to an Army band in Japan and played with Toshiko Akiyoshi. He cites Lionel Hampton as his first and biggest influence on vibraphone.