David Newman is an American jazz and pop musician. He made his debut as a musician with Tim Burton`s short film Frankenweenie in 1984. In 1987, he scored Danny DeVito`s Throw Momma from the Train. This was his first collaboration with DeVito, and he went on to score nearly all of his subsequent films, including The War of the Roses (1989), Other People`s Money (1991), Hoffa (1992), Matilda (1996) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Newman has also scored the comedies The Flintstones (1994), The Mighty Ducks (1992), The Nutty Professor (1996), and Bill & Ted`s Excellent Adventure (1989).

Like his counterpart Henry Mancini, Newman`s credits during the early years of his career were mostly scoring B-movies such as The Runestone (1990) and The Kindred (1987) before he gradually transitioned to score mostly comedy films during his prime such as Bowfinger (1999) and The Freshman (1990). His other releases include How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003), Serenity (2005) and The Spy Next Door (2010). His score for The Spirit (2008) was a tribute to Mancini`s 1950s and 60s neo-noir scores such as Touch of Evil (1958) or Experiment in Terror (1962).

He received an Academy Award nomination for the score to the animated Don Bluth film Anastasia (1998), following his father who scored the 1956 live-action version. However, he lost to Anne Dudley for The Full Monty. His other scores include Critters, The Phantom, The Brave Little Toaster, Malone, Ice Age, and Serenity, among others.

In 1997, Newman began a four-year stint as the music director for the Sundance Institute, and he has conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra on several occasions. That year, he also re-recorded the 20th Century Fox Fanfare that was originally composed by his father Alfred, which debuted in the aforementioned Anastasia and is still being used as of 2019. In February 2007, he was elected president of The Film Music Society. On May 21, 2009, Newman was honoured with the Richard Kirk award at the annual BMI Film & Television Awards. The prestigious award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.