Leslie Bricusse Explained

Leslie Bricusse
Background:non_performing_personnel
Birth Name:Leslie Charles Bricusse
Birth Date:29 January 1931
Birth Place:Pinner, Middlesex, England
Death Place:Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
Years Active:1952–2021

Leslie Bricusse OBE (;[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; ; 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.

Early life and education

Born in Pinner, Middlesex (now in the London Borough of Harrow),[2] [3] Bricusse was educated at University College School in London and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied Modern and Medieval Languages.[4] While at Cambridge, he was Secretary of Footlights between 1952 and 1953 and Footlights President during the following year.[5] It was during his college drama career that he began working for Beatrice Lillie.[6]

Career

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 the team of "Brickman and Newburg", with "Newburg" concentrating mainly on the music and "Brickman" on the lyrics. Ian Fraser often did their arrangements.

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 in 1992) and John Williams (Home Alone in 1990 and Hook in 1991).

As composer and lyricist he scored the film Doctor Dolittle (1967), which flopped at the box-office but received an Academy Award for Best Original Song ("Talk to the Animals"). He also scored the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969).

Sammy Davis Jr. had hits with two songs by Bricusse, "What Kind of Fool Am I?" (from Stop the World - I Want to Get Off) and "The Candy Man" (from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) which became a No. 1 hit.[7]

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").[8]

Bricusse partnered with George Tipton to write the opening theme of the American television sitcom It's a Living.[9]

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.[10]

On 29 October 2001, he was awarded the OBE for services to the film industry and the theatre from Queen Elizabeth II at a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony.[11]

In 2015, he released a memoir entitled Pure Imagination: A Sorta-Biography, with a foreword by Elton John.[12]

Personal life

Bricusse lived in California and in London, in an apartment overlooking the River Thames. He was married to Yvonne "Evie" Romain, an actor. They had a son, Adam.

Death

Bricusse died in his sleep in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, on 19 October 2021, aged 90.[13] [14]

Works

Musicals

Songs

Awards

Nominations

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Say How: B. National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. 20 October 2021.
  2. Web site: Interview – triple threat writer Leslie Bricusse. Musicaltheatrereview.com.
  3. News: Leslie Bricusse: changing face of success | Features. Nick. Smurthwaite. The Stage. 26 May 2011.
  4. Web site: Oscar-winning Caian Leslie Bricusse (1931-2021) | Gonville & Caius. www.cai.cam.ac.uk.
  5. Web site: Official site. LeslieBricusse.com. 22 September 2014.
  6. News: Genzlinger. Neil. 2021-10-20. Leslie Bricusse, Prolific Songwriter for Stage and Screen, Dies at 90. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-10-24. 0362-4331.
  7. Web site: Sammy Davis, Jr.. The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard. 1988. Superseventies.com. 22 September 2014.
  8. Web site: Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka. Kennedy-center.org. 22 September 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141022201853/http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/wonka/program06.html. 22 October 2014.
  9. Web site: DEF: George Tipton and Leslie Bricusse "Theme from It's a Living" . Tunesmate.com. 17 February 2012 .
  10. Web site: Shenton. Mark. Mark Shenton's theatre picks: September 24. 24 September 2015. Thestage.co.uk. 23 March 2018.
  11. Web site: Leslie Bricusse, songwriter who wrote lyrics for the Bond films and was best known for Doctor Dolittle and Willy Wonka – obituary. Msn.com.
  12. Web site: Goldfinger and Pure Imagination songwriter Leslie Bricusse dead at 90. 2021-10-24. Torontosun.com. en-CA.
  13. News: Leslie Bricusse: 'Lyrical genius' of film dies aged 90 . BBC News. BBC. 20 October 2021.
  14. Burlingame. Jon. Leslie Bricusse, 'Willy Wonka,' 'Goldfinger' Songwriter, Dies at 90. Variety Magazine. 19 October 2021.
  15. Web site: Stage productions. Songwritershalloffame.org. 22 September 2014.
  16. Web site: Film Scores. Songwritershalloffame.org. 22 September 2014.
  17. Web site: Stage listing. LeslieBricusse.com. 22 September 2014.
  18. Web site: Jones. Kenneth. A New 'Candy Man': Tony Nominee Babatundé Will Be Sammy in New Musical. https://archive.today/20120716031340/http://web.playbill.com/news/article/131547-A_New_Candy_Man_Tony_Nominee_Babatund%E9_Will_Be_Sammy_in_New_Musical . 16 July 2012 . Playbill.com. 29 July 2009.
  19. Web site: Golden Raspberry Awards: 1986. Lebeauleblog.com. 12 November 2015.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Leslie Bricusse".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.