His song "Maniac" from the film Flashdance (1983) - co-written with Dennis Matkosky - reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in September 1983, and was subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It lost to another song from the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling", written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey and Irene Cara, which was also performed by Cara.
