Incubator escapee wiki

Leslie Bricusse

Article Discussion

Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist

Leslie Bricusse OBE (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.

Early life and educationEdit

Bricusse was born in Southfields, London on 29 January 1931, the son of Annie Mary (née MillsTemplate:Efn) and Cedric Bricusse, who already had a daughter. His paternal grandfather was Belgian, whilst his mother's father came from Belfast in Northern Ireland.Template:Sfnp His father was employed by Kelmsley Newspapers for most of his working life.<ref>Template:Cite newspaper</ref> When Bricusse was two years old, his parents relocated to Pinner, Middlesex,Template:Efn and he was educated at University College School, Hampstead.Template:Sfnp

After completing a two-year period of National Service with the Royal Army Service Corps,<ref name="Times">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he studied Modern and Medieval Languages at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He was secretary of Footlights in 1952–53, and president the following year.<ref name=les>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfnp He also formed the Cambridge University Musical Comedy Club, and wrote the lyrics for its first production, Lady at the Wheel, in 1953.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfnp It was during his college drama career that Bricusse began working for Beatrice Lillie.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After later starring in her stage show An Evening with Beatrice Lillie for a year, he decided to concentrate on writing rather than performing.<ref>Template:Cite books</ref>

CareerEdit

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> "Newburg" concentrated mainly on the music and "Brickman" on the lyrics, whilst Ian Fraser often did their arrangements.Template: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,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> "Talk to the Animals" earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He also scored the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969).Template:CN

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bricusse partnered with George Tipton to write the opening theme of the American television sitcom It's a Living.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bricusse was inducuted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> On 29 October 2001, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for "services to the film industry and the theatre"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> from Queen Elizabeth II at a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2015, he released a memoir entitled Pure Imagination: A Sorta-Biography, with a foreword by Elton John.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

Bricusse lived in California and in London, in an apartment overlooking the River Thames.Template:Cn He married actress Yvonne "Evie" Romain on 18 October 1958 at St James's Church, Marylebone.<ref>Template:Cite newspaper</ref> The couple's son, Adam Cedric (born 4 April 1964),Template:Sfnp pursued a career as an artist after studying fine art at Merton College, Oxford.Template:Sfnp<ref>Template:Cite newspaper</ref>

DeathEdit

Bricusse died in his sleep in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, on 19 October 2021, aged 90.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2024, his wife donated his papers, including 225 notebooks, to the Library of Congress.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} (Includes transcript of segment from NPR news program All Things Considered).</ref>

WorksEdit

MusicalsEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

SongsEdit

Template:Small

AwardsEdit

Template:Small

NominationsEdit

Template:Small

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

NotesEdit

Template:Notelist

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

SourcesEdit

External linksEdit

Template:Commons Category Template:Sister project

| https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p59324{{ 

 #if: 
 | /{{{tab}}}
 }}

| {{#if: p59324 

 | {{#if: 
   | {{#if: |[[{{{author-link}}}|{{#if: |, {{{first}}} }}]]|{{#if: |, {{{first}}} }}}}. 
   }}[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p59324{{
   #if: 
   | /{{{tab}}}
   }} {{
   #if: 
   | {{{title}}}
   | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
   }}] at AllMusic{{
   #if: 
   | . Retrieved .
   }}

 | {{#if: {{#property:P1728}}
   | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

   | {{#if: {{#property:P1729}}
     | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

     | {{#if: {{#property:P1730}}
       | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

       | {{#if: {{#property:P1994}}
         | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

         | {{AllMusic}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.Template:Main other

         }}
       }}
     }}
   }}
 }}

}} 

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0108634|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0108634/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 0108634  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 0108634{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0108634|plain=false}} 

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

Template:Navboxes

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://zalansite.site/mediawiki/index.php?title=Leslie_Bricusse&oldid=321808"