was elected an Honorary Doctor of Letters at Richmond College. Kretzmer received an Honorary Doctorate from Rhodes University in South Africa on 7 April 2011. Kretzmer was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to music. He was nominated for Best Original Song at the 85th Academy Awards and the 70th Golden Globe Awards for the song "Suddenly" from the 2012 film version of Les Miserables. Personal life Kretzmer was an atheist. He married Elisabeth Margaret Wilson in 1961; the couple had one son (Matthew) and one daughter (Danielle). They divorced in 1973. His second marriage was to Sybil Sever in 1988. Kretzmer suffered from Parkinson's disease. He died on 14 October 2020, at his home in London, nine days after his 95th birthday. According to his obituary in The New York Times, he earned a total of approximately $20 million from Les Miserables royalties. References External links Herbert Kretzmer official website [ Allmusic discography - songs] Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer: Joining an expertly guided tour through the history of entertainment, by John Nathan, Independent, 01 November 2015 Interview with Herbert Kretzmer in International Songwriters Association's "Songwriter Magazine" 1925 births 2020 deaths Daily Express people Daily Mail journalists English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent English songwriters Grammy Award winners Jewish atheists Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom South African Officers of the Order of the British Empire Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres People from the Free State (province) Rhodes University alumni South African atheists South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African Jews South African songwriters Tony Award winners