David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. A highly influential artist and performer, Bowie's career spanned over five decades, and his work, especially from the 1970s, left a significant impact on popular music. Bowie sold over 100 million albums, and 10 of his 25 albums reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, the most recent being Blackstar, released only two days before his death from liver cancer in 2016.
The filmmakers of Disney's Moana have gone on record to say that Tamatoa was based on David Bowie's characters and stage personas, and the song "Shiny" is a tribute and homage to Bowie's songs. Additionally the Guardians of the Galaxy's spaceship, "The Bowie", was named after him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. His song "Starman" was also used in Disney/Pixar's Lightyear.
He died two days after his 69th birthday.
Selected filmography[]
As an actor[]
| Year | Title | Role | Medium | Studio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Basquiat | Andy Warhol | Feature film | Miramax Films (a then-Disney subsidiary) |
| 2006 | The Prestige | Nikola Tesla | Feature film | Touchstone Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures |
As a performer/songwriter[]
| Year | Title | Song | Medium | Studio | Originally appears on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Pretty Woman | "Fame" (Gass Mix) | Feature film | Touchstone Pictures Silver Screen Partners |
Young Americans (1975) | Co-written with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar |
| 1997 | Grosse Pointe Blank | "Under Pressure" | Feature film | Hollywood Pictures | Hot Space (1982) | Collaboration with Queen |
| 1997 | Starship Troopers | "I Have Not Been to Oxford Town" | Feature film | Touchstone Pictures TriStar Pictures |
Outside (1995) | |
| 2004 | Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen | "Changes" | Feature film | Walt Disney Pictures | Hunky Dory (1971) | Performed in film by Lindsay Lohan |
| 2004 | The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou | "Life on Mars" "Queen Bitch" |
Feature film | Touchstone Pictures | Hunky Dory (1971) | Brazilian singer Seu Jorge also recorded fourteen Bowie covers in Portuguese for the film's soundtrack |
| 2014 | Guardians of the Galaxy | "Moonage Daydream" | Feature film | Marvel Studios | The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) | |
| 2014 | Fantasia: Music Evolved | "Ziggy Stardust" | Video game | Harmonix Disney Interactive |
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) | The game includes the original, orchestral, and Ashtar Command Parallel mixes |
| 2022 | Lightyear | "Starman" | Feature film | Pixar | The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) | The song is featured in the trailer |
| 2023 | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | "Space Oddity" | Feature film | Lucasfilm |
