David Shire

David Shire is an American composer and songwriter, born in Buffalo, New York, in 1937. He is known for his film scores of the 1970s, above all The Conversation for Francis Ford Coppola and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, both from 1974. He has also written stage musicals with lyricist Richard Maltby Jr. since their student years at Yale. David Shire graduated from Yale in 1959, where he met Maltby. Their shows include Starting Here, Starting Now (1977), Baby (1983), Closer Than Ever (1989) and Big (1996).