- Born in the Bronx, 1940. Graduated High School of Music & Art in New York, then studied composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.
Before moving to Hollywood, wrote and played Latin music for Salsa legends including Tito Puente, Ray Baretto and Joe Quijano.
In addition to composing over 100 movie scores (including Barbarella and 9-5) and TV themes (Happy Days & Love Boat), Fox wrote the music for many popular songs including "Killing Me Softly With His Song" (Grammy/Roberta Flack-Fugees), "I Got A Name" (Jim Croce), Richard's Window (Olivia Newton John/Oscar Nomination) & "Ready To Take A Chance Again" (Oscar Nomination/Barry Manilow).
Classical compositions include 3 full length ballets: "Song For Dead Warriors" (San Franciso Ballet Company, 1979) , "Zorro" (Smuin Ballet, 2003) and "Salsa Til Dawn" (Smuin ballet 2024). Other larger classical works include: "Lament & Prayer" (Warsaw Opera House/2008), "Fantasie-Homage To Chopin" (Gdansk, Poland/Chopin Festival 2010) and "Clarinet Quintet" (Santa Fe Opera House / 2015).
In addition to winning 2 Emmys, a Grammy & 2 Oscar Nominations, he was given BMI's Richard Kirk Career Achievement Award in 1992 and inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2004. Fox served as a Board of Governor for the Academy's music branch from 2008-2016, and was re-elected in 2022. Charles will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame April 2024.
Charles' memoirs "Killing Me Softly: My Life In Music", chronicling his composing career and centering on his 3 years studying with Nadia Boulanger, was released by Scarecrow Press in the Fall of 2010.
In 2019, for HBO's documentary "The Bronx, USA", Fox & Paul Williams wrote the title song called "Da' Bronx" which is sung live on the Bronx streets by Robert Klein and Hamilton star Donald Webber Jr. They were nominated for a Hollywood Music Media Award.
Fox has recently returned to his early roots of Latin music-- with a series of concerts in Havana, all original Cuban music, which are featured in a new documentary called Killing Me Softly with His Songs (2022), directed by Danny Gold.
The documentary chronicles Fox's 60 year journey writing music and will be released on Apple and other streaming devices April 2024.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- SpouseJoan Susan Redman(1962 - present) (3 children)
- Father of writer-director Robbie Fox for whom he scored a film and two pilots.
- When Charlie Fox first presented the new "Love Boat" theme to producer Aaron Spelling, there was neither a tape machine nor piano in the office, so Fox had to sing it "a cappella" while snapping his finger. Spelling loved it, started snapping along and signed off on it based on that.
- Honored by Society of Composers & Lyricists with lifetime achievement award (2009).
- In November 1977, the top three television shows all had music composed by Charles Fox: Happy Days (1974), Laverne & Shirley (1976) and The Love Boat (1977). This happened repeatedly over the next few years in different orders. In 1979, the Donna Pescow/Robert Hays sitcom Angie (1979) gave Fox four shows in the top 10 all in the same week.
- Inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame (2004).
- During Fox's acceptance speech for his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 84 year old composer said: "I know this honor is for the work I've done, but I'd like to think it will be for the work I'm going to do... that I still plan to do"
- On sight-reading music-- "If you're playing what you're reading, you're 2 bars behind"
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