John Barry
(born November 3, 1933,
York
, England?died January 30, 2011,
Oyster Bay
,
Long Island
,
New York
, U.S.) British composer who provided the musical scores for more than 100 motion pictures and television programs, notably 11 movies featuring
Ian Fleming
’s
iconic
spy
James Bond
?
From Russia with Love
(1963),
Goldfinger
(1964),
Thunderball
(1965),
You Only Live Twice
(1967),
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
(1969),
Diamonds Are Forever
(1971),
The Man with the Golden Gun
(1974),
Moonraker
(1979),
Octopussy
(1983),
A View to a Kill
(1985), and
The Living Daylights
(1987)?and another,
Dr. No
(1962), for which Barry’s
score
triggered a lawsuit by the credited composer, Monty Norman.
Barry initially played the piano and trumpet at dances and as an army bandsman during his
military service
. He formed (1957) a rock-and-roll band, the John Barry Seven, and worked with pop singers, including
Adam Faith. After agreeing to compose the scores for two films in which Faith had been cast, Barry was approached to do the musical arrangements for
Dr. No
.
Britannica Quiz
Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia
Barry captured five
Academy Awards
?for
Born Free
(1966; Oscars for both best score and best song),
The Lion in Winter
(1968),
Out of Africa
(1985), and
Dances with Wolves
(1990)?as well as
nominations
for
Mary, Queen of Scots
(1971) and
Chaplin
(1992). His other
film
scores include
Zulu
(1964),
The Ipcress File
(1965),
Midnight Cowboy
(1969),
Somewhere in Time
(1980),
Body Heat
(1981),
Peggy Sue Got Married
(1986), and
Enigma
(2001). He also composed for the stage, including the moderately successful musicals
Passion Flower Hotel
(1965) and
Billy
(1974), and won four
Grammy Awards
, notably best
jazz
instrumental performance, big band, for the film sound track of
The Cotton Club
(1984). Barry, who was made an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in 1999, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2005 he won an academy fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.