Marvin Hamlisch, best-known as composer of “A Chorus Line” and “The Way We Were,” has died at age 68.

A child prodigy, he was the youngest student ever admitted to the Juilliard School, and was only one of two people (the other was composer Richard Rodgers) to win Pulitzer, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.

He wrote some 40 movie scores and was involved in 20 Broadway productions, starting in 1964, including They’re Playing Our Song, Jean Seberg, Smile, The Goodbye Girl and Sweet Smell of Success. His latest musical, The Nutty Professor, recently opened in Nashville, directed by Jerry Lewis, and aiming for Broadway. His work on it prompted him to say:

“Music is truly an international language and it has the ability to bring people together like nothing else…… except comedy.”

Other quotes:

“I started studying music at the age of five and a half. My older sister was taking piano lessons. When her teacher left our apartment, I would get up on the piano bench and start picking out the notes that were part of my sister’s lessons. ”

There have been studies that clearly state that children who are exposed to arts education at a young age will in fact do markedly better in their SAT tests.