Quincy Jones was working on Oscar speech before death

Quincy Jones intended to be at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles and he even prepared a speech before his death.

Quincy Jones was working on his acceptance speech for his honorary Oscar before he passed away.

The legendary music producer died on November 3, aged 91, after a battle with pancreatic cancer, and his daughter Rashida Jones actually read out a few words from the acceptance speech he was writing for the Governors Awards.

Rashida – who attended the awards show in Los Angeles on Sunday (17.11.24), alongside his daughters Martina, 58, and Kenya, 31, as well as his son Quincy III, 55 – told the audience: “When I was a young film composer, you didn’t even see faces of colour working in the studio commissaries.

“I’m so, so proud of the fact that my name and contributions can be included in that evolution.

“I share this award and tonight’s honour with all the amazing directors, legendary actors, and of course exceptional songwriters, composers, and musicians who I’ve formed dear friendships with over my seven decades in this business, and know that I wouldn’t trade this night or those experiences for anything in the world.”

Rashid, 48, felt proud to collect the Lifetime Achievement Oscar on behalf of her father, but she also acknowledged that “it was a difficult decision” to attend the event.

The actress – who has starred in comedy shows such as ‘The Office’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’ – said: “In some ways, it was a difficult decision for our family to be here tonight but we felt like we wanted to celebrate his beautiful life and career.

“His music has literally defined an entire century of culture – jazz, disco, film, pop, hip-hop, but the real thread in his music is that his music is all infused with his love.”