Music supervisor Budd Carr, known for Heat and Platoon, passes away at 79

Budd Carr, the acclaimed music supervisor known for his work in Heat and Platoon, passed away on July 20, 2025, in Santa Barbara. He was 79. The former musician had undergone a routine medical procedure a few days before he died. For more than 30 years, Carr had consulted and supervised on the music integration in more than 100 films and television ventures.

Carr is survived by his wife Jeanne, 55, and three children, Elizabeth Carr-Ernst, Ryan, and Jonathon.

Budd Carr’s successful career in the entertainment industry

Budd Carr played a significant role in the music industry. In the 1950s-60s, he started his career as a rock musician in the band One Eyed Jacks. While the band did make a name for themselves, it was not until the 1970s that Carr found his first major success, only this time as a music agent. He discovered the famous music group, Kansas. Carr successfully managed the group and even went on to produce a documentary about the group titled Miracles Out of Nowhere.

Budd Carr’s career took a new turn when he decided to create a path for himself in the form of a music supervisor. In the 1980s, Hollywood was looking to find ways to integrate music in movies that could enhance the screenplay. While the role of music supervisor was hardly of significance at the time, Carr made a name for himself after he took on the mammoth successful movie The Terminator in 1984. His work drew much acclaim, and Carr became a trailblazer as a music supervisor.

Budd Carr worked on several movies that went on to find critical and box-office success. It was, however, his collaborations with renowned director Oliver Stone that put a spotlight on Carr’s talent. He first worked with Stone in the movie Salvador in 1986. Carr would go on to work as the music supervisor for several of his films, such as Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, W., World Trade Center, JFK, Nixon, The Doors, and Snowden.

During an interview in 2016, Carr reflected on working with Oscar-winning director Stone. As per Below The Line News, Carr said,

“With Oliver, and he’s a voracious music listener and a big fan, we start a project together, in script stage, putting together assortments…In the old days, it was a box of cassette tapes when we started doing Born on the Fourth of July. Directors who enjoy music will grab a tape, maybe not with the specificity of where it will go, but it will allow you to create a palette of where it will go. Directors will become attached with songs; they try to put them in places where it won’t work. On W, Oliver liked ‘Spirit in the Sky.’ Where to put it? It ended up in a great place. None of us would have done that. It was a commentary on the visual. He found a way to make it work. That’s the fun part of it.”

Budd Carr established a standard for music supervision in movies and television. He was able to perfectly find the balance between the music and the screenplay. Throughout his career, he worked on several movies and shows that showcased the importance of music in storytelling.

He worked on several acclaimed projects such as Heat, Twister, Hotel Rwanda, Donnie Brasco, and Seven Years In Tibet. He also received nominations for the Guild of Music Supervisor Awards, for Get It On: The James Brown Story and Californication.

Budd Carr was a prominent member of the Santa Barbara community, known for his many philanthropic works. His influence as the music supervisor will continue to inspire more to pursue the profession in the film and television industry.

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