Composer/lyricist Marc Shaiman has been nominated for the Academy Award five times for his work on the feature films South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Patch Adams, The First Wives Club, The American President, and Sleepless in Seattle. Mr. Shaiman has also received an Emmy and two nominations for Grammy Awards.

Marc Shaiman has composed, adapted music, arranged music and/or served as music supervisor or written lyrics for more than 50 films, including A Few Good Men, Sister Act, City Slickers, The Addams Family, Misery, When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Mother, George of the Jungle, In & Out, 61*, directed by Billy Crystal, and the upcoming comedy Marci X. Mr. Shaiman also collaborated with Eric Clapton on the score for Rob Reiner's The Story of Us.

Mr. Shaiman started his career as vocal arranger for Bette Midler, eventually becoming her musical director and co-producer. He found and brought her the Grammy-winning songs "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From a Distance." Mr. Shaiman considers his collaboration with Bette Midler on her Emmy Award-winning performance for the final Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to be a highlight.

Mr. Shaiman has also been nominated for two Grammy Awards for his arrangements for Harry Connick Jr., and he has worked with a great variety of performers, including Peter Allen, Rosemary Clooney, Harry Connick Jr., Billy Crystal, The Harlettes, Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Holliday, Nathan Lane, Darlene Love, Patti LuPone, Andrea Martin, Lonette McKee, Bette Midler, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Barbra Streisand, Luther Vandross and Raquel Welch.

Mr. Shaiman has written music (and often co-written the lyrics) for the following Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals: Hairspray, Livin' Dolls, Dementos, Trilogy of Terror and The G-String Murders.

Mr. Shaiman's arrangements and/or compositions have appeared in the following Broadway and Off-Broadway shows: Peter Allen - Up In One, Leader of the Pack, The Tap Dance Kid, Andre Deshields' Haarlem Nocturne, Legends (with Mary Martin and Carol Channing), Harry Connick Jr. on Broadway and Patti LuPone at Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Shaiman also musical directed Commitment to Live VII which featured Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Whitney Houston, Angela Lansbury, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen and Elizabeth Taylor, and which raised more than five million dollars for AIDS Project L.A.

Mr. Shaiman resides in Los Angeles and New York City with theater director and collaborator Scott Wittman, with whom he has written the new Broadway musical Hairspray based on the John Waters film of the same name.