Film composer Alex North was nominated for an Oscar fifteen times. How many competitive Oscars did he win?

In the celebrated history of the Academy Awards, the first honorary Oscar ever given to a composer was given to Alex North (1910 - 1991). The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences explained their decision by saying: ''We felt it was time that we recognized someone other than actors or directors, who usually are the winners of honorary Oscars. Thus there is unanimous feeling that Alex deserves this esteemed honorary award.''

When accepting his Oscar, North confessed to considerable nervousness. ''I have difficulty facing audiences until the downbeat,'' he said. ''One of the nightmares I've had is getting up to face people, wearing nothing but a tuxedo jacket and my shorts. In a sense, I'm relieved that I've never won an Oscar.''

During his career of over 45 years, North accumulated 15 Oscar nominations. In 1952 he received his first nomination for his score in ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' which one critic described as ''the landmark score for a jazz film.'' Then later in his life, he won great accolades for his music in both Under the Volcano (1985) and Prizzi's Honor(1985).

But North was most proud of the letter he received from the composer William Schuman, calling his score for Prizzi's Honor ''a masterpiece of its genre and in fact a textbook on the way music should be written for films.''

All in all experts noted that North was truly able to use his music score to enhance the proper visual and aural stimulation required for the films that he made.