As Danny Elfman was growing up in the Los Angeles area, he was largely unaware of his talent for composing (many biographies claim he was born in Amarillo to an Air Force father, but he was actually born in Los Angeles - the Amarillo story was a lie he made up once because he was tired of doing interviews, and the joke found its way into many of his bios) . It wasn't until the early 1970s that Danny and his older brother Richard started a musical troupe while in Paris; the group "Mystic Knights of Oingo-Boingo" was created for Richard's directorial debut, "The Forbidden Zone" (now considered a cult classic by Elfman fans). The group's name went through many incarnations over the years, beginning with "The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo" and eventually just "Oingo Boingo." While continuing to compose eclectic, intelligent rock music for his L.A.-based band (some of which had been used in various film soundtracks, e.g. "Weird Science" in a movie by the same name), Danny formed a friendship with young director Tim Burton, who was then a fan of Oingo-Boingo. Danny went on to score the soundtrack of Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), which represented Danny's first orchestral film score. The Elfman-Burton partnership continued (most notably through the hugely-successful "Batman" flicks) and opened doors of opportunity for Danny, who has been referred to as "Hollywood's hottest film composer".

Credit: imdb.com