- Had tagged several scores with a distinctive four-note trumpet blast during an important moment in the film.
- Wrote the theme for the Universal Pictures logo used between 1990 and 1997.
- Had followed Jerry Goldsmith by composing the scores for two sequels to movies Goldsmith scored: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Aliens (1986).
- His score for Titanic (1997) is reportedly the biggest-selling orchestral soundtrack in history.
- Served as composer on three Oscar Winners for Best Pictures: Braveheart (1995), Titanic (1997), and A Beautiful Mind (2001).
- Although he studied piano, he didn't consider himself to be a good pianist.
- Wrote and conducted a special medley at the World Premiere of 'Titanic 3D' at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
- Many of his scores contain a wordless female voice (like Ennio Morricone often does).
- He died in a plane crash on June 22, 2015 while soloing in his S312 Tucano T MKI 1 two-seater trainer in low altitude aerobatic maneuvers in Quatal Canyon, California.
- His end-title themes for Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and Glory (1989) have been heavily reused for various movie trailers.
- Cited Dmitri Shostakovich as one of his main influences.
- All three of his 2015 musical scores (for Southpaw (2015), Wolf Totem (2015) and The 33 (2015)) were long-listed for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
- Bishop's Countdown from Aliens (1986) is the 5th most used track for trailer cues, according to www.filmdetail.com, with a total of 24 times used (as of 2011).
- He contributed with the musical score of seven films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Dresser (1983), Field of Dreams (1989), Braveheart (1995), Apollo 13 (1995), Titanic (1997), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Avatar (2009). Of those, Braveheart (1995), Titanic (1997), A Beautiful Mind (2001) are winners in the category, with Horner winning two Oscars for Score and Original Song for Titanic.
- Often used a "crashing piano" to symbolize genius in his scores (A Beautiful Mind (2001), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)).
- His first and last Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score were for films directed by James Cameron. They were for Aliens (1986) and Avatar (2009). Incidentally his sole win in the category was also for a Cameron film, Titanic (1997).
- Had received the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award at the 2013 Hollywood in Vienna gala, awarded for exceptional achievements in the art of film music.
- All three of the scores he conducted for James Cameron (Aliens (1986), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009)) were nominated for Best Original Score. His score for Titanic won.
- Was nominated for Film Composer of the Year in 2009 by the International Film Music Critics Association.
- Horner was cremated. His ashes were given to his family.
- Was close friends with score engineer Simon Rhodes. Rhodes also served as album co-producer on several of Horner's scores.
- Attended University of the Pacific in Stockton, California
- Son of Harry Horner.
- Brother of Christopher Horner.
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