Alex North (December 4, 1910 - September 8, 1991) was an American composer responsible for the first jazz-based film score (A Streetcar Named Desire). North was nominated for 15 Oscars, but did not win until receiving the lifetime achievement Academy Award in 1986. Among his many film scores are Spartacus, Cleopatra, Streetcar Named Desire, Death of A Salesman, Dragonslayer, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Viva Zapata. North composed the music to the timeless hit song, "Unchained Melody."