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Leslie Bricusse

English composer, lyricist and playwright (1931–2021) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leslie Bricusse OBE (/ˈbrɪkəs/;[1] 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films Doctor Dolittle; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Scrooge; Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; Tom and Jerry: The Movie; the titular James Bond film songs "Goldfinger" and "You Only Live Twice"; "Can You Read My Mind? (Love Theme from Superman)" (with John Williams) from Superman; and "Le Jazz Hot!" (with Henry Mancini) from Victor/Victoria.

Quick Facts Birth name, Born ...
Leslie Bricusse
Birth nameLeslie Charles Bricusse
Born(1931-01-29)29 January 1931
Southfields, London, England
Died19 October 2021(2021-10-19) (aged 90)
Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
Occupations
Years active1952–2021
Spouse
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(m. 1958)​
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Early life and education

Bricusse was born in Southfields, London on 29 January 1931, the son of Annie Mary (née Mills[a]) and Cedric Bricusse, who already had a daughter. His paternal grandfather was Belgian, whilst his mother's father came from Belfast in Northern Ireland.[3] His father was employed by Kelmsley Newspapers for most of his working life.[4] When Bricusse was two years old, his parents relocated to Pinner, Middlesex,[b] and he was educated at University College School, Hampstead.[3]

After completing a two-year period of National Service with the Royal Army Service Corps,[5] he studied Modern and Medieval Languages at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.[6][7] He was secretary of Footlights in 1952–53, and president the following year.[8][9] He also formed the Cambridge University Musical Comedy Club, and wrote the lyrics for its first production, Lady at the Wheel, in 1953.[10][11] It was during his college drama career that Bricusse began working for Beatrice Lillie.[12] After later starring in her stage show An Evening with Beatrice Lillie for a year, he decided to concentrate on writing rather than performing.[13]

Career

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In the 1960s and 1970s, Bricusse enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Anthony Newley. They wrote the musical Stop the World – I Want to Get Off (1961), which was the basis of a 1966 film version and featured the Grammy-winning Song of the Year “What Kind of Fool Am I?” Also in collaboration with Newley, Bricusse wrote the show The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (1965) and music for the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), based on the children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. For the latter, they received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song Score. When he collaborated with Newley, the two men referred to themselves as "Brickman and Newburg" – nicknames which arose after an unsuccessful attempt to create a musical based on Ingmar Bergman's film comedy Smiles of a Summer Night.[14] "Newburg" concentrated mainly on the music and "Brickman" on the lyrics, whilst Ian Fraser often did their arrangements.[citation needed]

Working solely as a lyricist, he collaborated with composer Cyril Ornadel on Pickwick (1963), based on Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers, a successful vehicle for Harry Secombe. His later collaborators included Henry Mancini (Victor/Victoria in 1982 and Tom and Jerry: The Movie in 1992) and John Williams (Home Alone in 1990 and Hook in 1991).

Bricusse composed the music and lyrics for the songs in the 1967 film Doctor Dolittle, which co-starred Newley, and also wrote its screenplay. Although the movie flopped at the box-office,[15] "Talk to the Animals" earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He also scored the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969).[citation needed]

Sammy Davis Jr. had hits with two songs by Bricusse, "What Kind of Fool Am I?" (1962), from Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, and "The Candy Man" (1972), from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. In the United States, the latter release topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for three weeks, and was the singer's biggest hit.[16][17]

Other recording artists who recorded successful versions of his songs include Nina Simone ("Feeling Good"), Matt Monro and Frank Sinatra ("My Kind of Girl"), Shirley Bassey ("Goldfinger"), Harry Secombe ("If I Ruled the World"), Nancy Sinatra ("You Only Live Twice"), The Turtles ("A Guide for the Married Man"), Maureen McGovern ("Can You Read My Mind"), and Diana Krall ("When I Look in Your Eyes").[18]

Bricusse partnered with George Tipton to write the opening theme of the American television sitcom It's a Living.[19]

Pure Imagination: The World of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse, devised and directed by Bruce Kimmel, opened at the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, California, on 7 December 2013. In 2015, it went to the St James Theatre, London.[20]

Bricusse was inducuted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989.[21] On 29 October 2001, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for "services to the film industry and the theatre"[22] from Queen Elizabeth II at a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony.[23]

In 2015, he released a memoir entitled Pure Imagination: A Sorta-Biography, with a foreword by Elton John.[24]

Personal life

Bricusse lived in California and in London, in an apartment overlooking the River Thames.[citation needed] He married actress Yvonne "Evie" Romain on 18 October 1958 at St James's Church, Marylebone.[25] The couple's son, Adam Cedric (born 4 April 1964),[26] pursued a career as an artist after studying fine art at Merton College, Oxford.[27][28]

Death

Bricusse died in his sleep in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, on 19 October 2021, aged 90.[29][30] In 2024, his wife donated his papers, including 225 notebooks, to the Library of Congress.[31][32]

Works

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Musicals

Songs

Source:[40]

Awards

Source:[41]

Nominations

Source:[41]

Notes

  1. When Bricusse's parents were married, on 23 June 1923, his mother was a widow with the surname Vilander.[2]
  2. Pinner is now in the London borough of Harrow

References

External links

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