Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith (August 6, 1969 - October 21, 2003) was an American songwriter and musician from Portland, Oregon who rose to prominence when his song "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack was nominated for the Oscar in the best original song category in 1998.He was born Steven Paul Smith in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, Gary Smith, is a psychiatrist and his mother, Bunny Welch, is a singer. He grew up living with his mother in a suburb of Dallas, Texas before moving to live with his father in Portland during high school.
Smith learned to play the piano and guitar as a child and wrote his first song when he was 13. He began calling himself Elliott in middle school because he thought 'Steve' made him sound like a "jock". Smith graduated with a degree in philosophy from Hampshire College before joining a Portland punk band called Heatmiser. He recorded three solo albums on independent labels, and two more on DreamWorks Records.
After battling depression, alcoholism, and drug addiction for a number of years, he died in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California at age 34, from multiple stab wounds to the chest. Originally reported as a suicide, the official autopsy report released in late December 2003 left the question open:
"While his history of depression is compatible with suicide, and the location and direction of the stab wounds are consistent with self-infliction, several aspects of the circumstances (as are known at this time) are atypical of suicide and raise the possibility of homicide. These include the absence of hesitation wounds, stabbing through clothing, and the presence of small incised wounds on the right arm and left hand (possible defensive wounds). Additionally, the girlfriend's reported removal of the knife and subsequent refusal to speak with detectives are all of concern."
At the time of his death, he was recording his sixth album, From A Basement On The Hill.
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Discography
Full-Length Albums
Singles
External links
