Ron Goodwin
Encyclopedia
Ronald Alfred Goodwin was a British
composer
and conductor
known for his film
music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years.
Born in Plymouth
, Devon
, Goodwin learned to play the piano
and trumpet
from the age of five which allowed him to join the school band. When he was nine, the family moved to Harrow
, London
, where he attended Willesden
County School and Pinner County Grammar School
, in Middlesex
. From there he went on to study the trumpet in London at the Guildhall School of Music.
Whilst working as a copiest, he formed his own orchestra in his spare time and began arranging and conducting recordings for over fifty artists, which resulted in more than 100 chart successes. He wrote his first feature film score for Whirlpool, with screenplay by Lawrence P. Bachmann. After Bachmann became executive producer at MGM British Studios in 1959, Goodwin composed and conducted the music for most of its productions, as well as working for other film studios. His most famous works included Where Eagles Dare
, Battle of Britain
, 633 Squadron
and Operation Crossbow
.
In the 1980's Goodwin began concentrating on live orchestral performances and appeared as guest conductor with many symphony orchestras at home and abroad including The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
He composed music and conducted orchestra's up until his death on 8 January 2003, aged 77.
. His mother, Bessie Violet née Godsland (died 1966), was a housewife.
for publishing companies and bands, including some attached to the BBC. Through documentary films he was introduced to music for movies, which he said was "a very good training". He worked as a ghostwriter
for Phil Green, Stanley Black
, Geraldo
and Peter Yorke among others. From 1949 Goodwin conducted for the Polygon company, arranging and conducting recordings of Petula Clark
and Jimmy Young
, including the latter’s 1951 UK no 1 hit Too Young. In the 1950s he joined Parlophone
, and worked alongside George Martin
. He accompanied Peter Sellers
on his Goodness Gracious Me
album, and began to broadcast and make records with his Ron Goodwin Concert Orchestra. In 1953 Goodwin began arranging and conducting more than 300 recordings for over fifty artists, which resulted in more than 100 chart successes. He simultaneously made his own series of recordings and broadcasts as Ron Goodwin and his Concert Orchestra, and in addition began to compose scores for documentary films at Merton Park Studios
. In 1958, Goodwin wrote his first feature film score for Whirlpool, with screenplay by Lawrence P. Bachmann. After Bachmann became executive producer at MGM British Studios in 1959, Goodwin composed and conducted the music for most of its productions, as well as working for other film studios.
His last film score would be for the 1986 animation film "Valhalla" which was made in Denmark
. By now, Goodwin had begun concentrating on live orchestrations which included his "Drake 400 Suite" in (1980) and "Armada Suite" in (1988). His "New Zealand Suite" in (1983) marked a long association with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
, Goodwin appeared as guest conductor with many symphony orchestras at home and abroad including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
, Hallé Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
, Ulster Orchestra
, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra
, Australian Pops Orchestra, Danish Radio Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra
. Goodwin was guest conductor at the Royal Academy of Music's Festival of British and American Film Music in June 1996.
, including a lifetime achievement award, and was a Fellow of the City of Leeds College of Music and a Freedom of the City of London
.
Goodwin was married twice; his second wife is called Heather. He had a son named Chris, a granddaughter Charlene, and a great-grandson Jordan. He had one step-granddaughter called Anna.
The road in which Goodwin lived with his family in Plymouth
has since been renamed "Goodwin Crescent" in his memory.
for many years and the condition had got progressively worse the older he got. On 7 January 2003, having completed conducting Christmas concerts with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
he returned home and died in his sleep at Blacknest Cottage, Brimpton Common, Berkshire, on 8 January 2003, aged 77. He is buried at St Paul's Churchyard, Ashford Hill, Hampshire, England.
movies, starring Margaret Rutherford
entitled Murder, She Said
(1961). He later went on to compose the remaining three Miss Marple films Murder at the Gallop
(1963), Murder Most Foul
(1963) and Murder Ahoy (1964). His war films are particularly well remembered. These include Where Eagles Dare
(1968), Battle of Britain
(1969), for which he (mostly) replaced William Walton
, 633 Squadron
, Operation Crossbow
and Force Ten From Navarone. After requests from the RAF military band, the opening from Battle of Britain, originally titled Luftwaffe March, was retitled Aces High and is now regularly played by military bands up and down the U.K.
He also wrote the scores for Of Human Bondage
(1964), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
(1965), Alfred Hitchcock
's 1972 film Frenzy
(for which he replaced Henry Mancini
), two movies featuring Morecambe
and Wise
, and the Norman Wisdom
film, The Early Bird
.
In 1974 Goodwin worked for Disney when he wrote the score to the family film, One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing
. He also composed all the music and songs for a series of animated films, that included "The Happy Prince", "The Selfish Giant" and "The Little Mermaid", the first two based on stories by Oscar Wilde
, and the last by Hans Christian Andersen
.
Goodwin's last composition for film was for the Danish-made animation film Valhalla
in 1986. The score is considered to be one of the best from Goodwin's later career.
was used as the intro for the BBC Radio Four panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
.Goodwin's score for the 1966 film The Trap
is now used by the BBC as the theme to London Marathon
coverage.
The Story of 'Frenzy' (video documentary)
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
known for his film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years.
Born in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, Goodwin learned to play the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
from the age of five which allowed him to join the school band. When he was nine, the family moved to Harrow
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he attended Willesden
Willesden
Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
County School and Pinner County Grammar School
Pinner County Grammar School
Pinner County Grammar School was a grammar school in Pinner, London from 1937 to 1982. In its latter years it became a college as Pinner Junior College and Pinner Sixth Form College. Famous pupils include Reg Dwight, otherwise known as Elton John, Simon Le Bon, Ron Goodwin and Gordon Beck all...
, in Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. From there he went on to study the trumpet in London at the Guildhall School of Music.
Whilst working as a copiest, he formed his own orchestra in his spare time and began arranging and conducting recordings for over fifty artists, which resulted in more than 100 chart successes. He wrote his first feature film score for Whirlpool, with screenplay by Lawrence P. Bachmann. After Bachmann became executive producer at MGM British Studios in 1959, Goodwin composed and conducted the music for most of its productions, as well as working for other film studios. His most famous works included Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 World War II action-adventure spy film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Upper Austria and Bavaria....
, Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain (film)
Battle of Britain is a 1969 Technicolor film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film broadly relates the events of the Battle of Britain...
, 633 Squadron
633 Squadron
633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
and Operation Crossbow
Operation Crossbow
Crossbow was the code name of the World War II campaign of Anglo-American "operations against all phases of the German long-range weapons programme—operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight"...
.
In the 1980's Goodwin began concentrating on live orchestral performances and appeared as guest conductor with many symphony orchestras at home and abroad including The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
He composed music and conducted orchestra's up until his death on 8 January 2003, aged 77.
Life and career
His father, James Goodwin (died 1952), was a policeman with the Metropolitan Police force and was engaged in security work at a naval dockyard in DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. His mother, Bessie Violet née Godsland (died 1966), was a housewife.
Early career
His first job in music was as a copyist and arrangerArrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
for publishing companies and bands, including some attached to the BBC. Through documentary films he was introduced to music for movies, which he said was "a very good training". He worked as a ghostwriter
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
for Phil Green, Stanley Black
Stanley Black
Stanley Black OBE was an English Bandleader, Composer, conductor, arranger and pianist. He wrote and arranged many film scores and recorded prolifically for the Decca label...
, Geraldo
Gerald Bright
Gerald Walcan Bright, better known as Geraldo was a British bandleader....
and Peter Yorke among others. From 1949 Goodwin conducted for the Polygon company, arranging and conducting recordings of Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
and Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young may refer to:*Jimmy Young *Jimmy Young , singer -See also:*Jim Young *James Young...
, including the latter’s 1951 UK no 1 hit Too Young. In the 1950s he joined Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
, and worked alongside George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
. He accompanied Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
on his Goodness Gracious Me
Goodness Gracious Me (song)
"Goodness Gracious Me" is a comedy song recorded by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren, and was a top 5 UK single in 1960. It features Sellers acting the role of an Indian doctor, and Loren of his wealthy Italian patient – who fall in love....
album, and began to broadcast and make records with his Ron Goodwin Concert Orchestra. In 1953 Goodwin began arranging and conducting more than 300 recordings for over fifty artists, which resulted in more than 100 chart successes. He simultaneously made his own series of recordings and broadcasts as Ron Goodwin and his Concert Orchestra, and in addition began to compose scores for documentary films at Merton Park Studios
Merton Park Studios
Merton Park Studios was a British film production studio in South Wimbledon, London. In the 1940s, it was owned by the Film Producers Guild.Opened in 1930, many second features were produced there, and for a time was home to Radio Luxembourg...
. In 1958, Goodwin wrote his first feature film score for Whirlpool, with screenplay by Lawrence P. Bachmann. After Bachmann became executive producer at MGM British Studios in 1959, Goodwin composed and conducted the music for most of its productions, as well as working for other film studios.
Later career
The later part of his film score career remained consistent throughout but the films dwindled in terms of quality and his scores would often be the only redeeming feature.His last film score would be for the 1986 animation film "Valhalla" which was made in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. By now, Goodwin had begun concentrating on live orchestrations which included his "Drake 400 Suite" in (1980) and "Armada Suite" in (1988). His "New Zealand Suite" in (1983) marked a long association with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....
, Goodwin appeared as guest conductor with many symphony orchestras at home and abroad including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....
, Hallé Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is Scotland's national symphony orchestra. Based in Glasgow, the 89-member professional orchestra also regularly performs in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, and abroad. Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, the company has performed full-time since 1950,...
, Ulster Orchestra
Ulster Orchestra
The Ulster Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Belfast, the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall...
, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a 96 members professional symphony orchestra. Its main performing venue is the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore although it has also toured widely in Asia, Europe and the United States...
, Australian Pops Orchestra, Danish Radio Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
. Goodwin was guest conductor at the Royal Academy of Music's Festival of British and American Film Music in June 1996.
Awards
In 1972, he recorded Somebody Named Ron Goodwin Plays Somebody Named Burt Bacharach and recorded internationally, winning gold and platinum discs awarded by EMI. He won a platinum disc from EMI New Zealand to mark two million sales of the album "Going Places". During his career he won three Ivor Novello AwardsIvor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
, including a lifetime achievement award, and was a Fellow of the City of Leeds College of Music and a Freedom of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
Personal life
Ron Shillingford, Goodwin's personal assistant for over twenty years said of him "Ron was a musical perfectionist who had a fine rapport with his fellow artists. He was a kind, caring man, with a wonderful sense of humour". Goodwin was a keen worker with young people and was heavily involved with the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, Worthing Youth Orchestra, City of Leeds College of Music and the City of Birmingham Schools’ Concert Orchestra.Goodwin was married twice; his second wife is called Heather. He had a son named Chris, a granddaughter Charlene, and a great-grandson Jordan. He had one step-granddaughter called Anna.
The road in which Goodwin lived with his family in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
has since been renamed "Goodwin Crescent" in his memory.
Death
In December 2002, he completed his 32nd consecutive year of these Christmas concerts in packed venues across the South of England. However, he had suffered from asthmaAsthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
for many years and the condition had got progressively worse the older he got. On 7 January 2003, having completed conducting Christmas concerts with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....
he returned home and died in his sleep at Blacknest Cottage, Brimpton Common, Berkshire, on 8 January 2003, aged 77. He is buried at St Paul's Churchyard, Ashford Hill, Hampshire, England.
Works
Goodwin is primarily known for his film music and worked on more than 70 scores during his career. He composed his first feature film, Man with a Gun in 1958 and was quickly followed by The Witness and Whirlpool a year later. Early minor film success followed with several films until 1961 when he composed the first of four Miss MarpleMiss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
movies, starring Margaret Rutherford
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...
entitled Murder, She Said
Murder, She Said
Murder, She Said is a murder mystery film directed by George Pollock, loosely based on the novel 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie...
(1961). He later went on to compose the remaining three Miss Marple films Murder at the Gallop
Murder at the Gallop
Murder at the Gallop is the second of four films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on the novel After the Funeral by Agatha Christie, and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Inspector Craddock and Stringer Davis as Mr. Stringer. The film changes the action...
(1963), Murder Most Foul
Murder Most Foul
Murder Most Foul is the third of four films made by MGM loosely based on novels by Agatha Christie and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Bud Tingwell as Inspector Craddock, and Stringer Davis as Mr Stringer. The story is ostensibly based on the novel Mrs McGinty's Dead, but notably...
(1963) and Murder Ahoy (1964). His war films are particularly well remembered. These include Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 World War II action-adventure spy film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Upper Austria and Bavaria....
(1968), Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain (film)
Battle of Britain is a 1969 Technicolor film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film broadly relates the events of the Battle of Britain...
(1969), for which he (mostly) replaced William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
, 633 Squadron
633 Squadron
633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
, Operation Crossbow
Operation Crossbow
Crossbow was the code name of the World War II campaign of Anglo-American "operations against all phases of the German long-range weapons programme—operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight"...
and Force Ten From Navarone. After requests from the RAF military band, the opening from Battle of Britain, originally titled Luftwaffe March, was retitled Aces High and is now regularly played by military bands up and down the U.K.
He also wrote the scores for Of Human Bondage
Of Human Bondage (1964 film)
Of Human Bondage is a 1964 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes. The MGM release, the third screen adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's 1915 novel, was written by Bryan Forbes.-Synopsis:...
(1964), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a 1965 British comedy film starring Stuart Whitman and directed and co-written by Ken Annakin...
(1965), Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 1972 film Frenzy
Frenzy
Frenzy is a 1972 British thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The film is based upon the novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern, and was adapted for the screen by Anthony Shaffer. La Bern...
(for which he replaced Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
), two movies featuring Morecambe
Eric Morecambe
John Eric Bartholomew OBE , known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
and Wise
Ernie Wise
Ernest Wiseman OBE , known by his stage name Ernie Wise, was an English comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, who became an institution on British television, especially for their Christmas specials.-Career:Ernest Wiseman was the eldest of five children, and changed...
, and the Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
film, The Early Bird
The Early Bird
The Early Bird is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom. It also featured Edward Chapman, Bryan Pringle, Richard Vernon, John Le Mesurier and Jerry Desmonde. It was the first Norman Wisdom film to be shot in colour...
.
In 1974 Goodwin worked for Disney when he wrote the score to the family film, One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing
One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing
One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing is a 1975 British comedy film, which is set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The title is a parody of the...
. He also composed all the music and songs for a series of animated films, that included "The Happy Prince", "The Selfish Giant" and "The Little Mermaid", the first two based on stories by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, and the last by Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
.
Goodwin's last composition for film was for the Danish-made animation film Valhalla
Valhalla (film)
Valhalla is a Danish animated feature film released in October 1986 by Metronome. Based on volumes one, four and five of the Interpresse/Carlsen comic book series, it was directed by Disney animator Jeffrey J. Varab and cartoonist Peter Madsen.-Production:...
in 1986. The score is considered to be one of the best from Goodwin's later career.
Modern Day References
He is associated with the Yorkshire Television start up music used from the mid-70s to early 80s before ITV had breakfast television. A 30-second variation of his 1969 composition for the film Monte Carlo Or BustMonte Carlo or Bust
Monte Carlo or Bust is a 1969 comedy film. The story is based on the Monte Carlo Rally - first raced in 1911 - and the film recalls this general era, set in the 1920s. The film is a British/French/Italian co-production, and was released in the United States under the title Those Daring Young Men in...
was used as the intro for the BBC Radio Four panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, sometimes abbreviated to ISIHAC or Clue, is a BBC radio comedy panel game broadcast since 11 April 1972 at the rate of one or two series each year , transmitted on BBC Radio 4, with occasional repeats on BBC Radio 4 Extra and the BBC's World Service...
.Goodwin's score for the 1966 film The Trap
The Trap (1966 film)
The Trap is an adventure/romance film released in 1966 starring Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed, written by David D. Osborn and directed by Sidney Hayers....
is now used by the BBC as the theme to London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
coverage.
Selected filmography
- A Man with a Gun (1958)
- Whirlpool (1958)
- The Witness (1959)
- I'm All Right JackI'm All Right JackI'm All Right Jack is a 1959 British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney, based on the novel Private Life by Hackney...
(1959) - The Trials of Oscar WildeThe Trials of Oscar WildeThe Trials of Oscar Wilde also known as The Man with the Green Carnation and The Green Carnation, is a 1960 British film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. It was produced by Irving Allen, written by Allen and Ken Hughes and...
(1960) - Village of the DamnedVillage of the Damned (1960 film)Village of the Damned is a 1960 British science fiction film by German director Wolf Rilla. The film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The lead role of Professor Gordon Zellaby was played by George Sanders. This film was #92 on Bravo's 100 Scariest...
(1960) - Murder She Said (1961)
- Johnny NobodyJohnny NobodyJohnny Nobody is a 1961 UK drama film brought to the screen by Viceroy Films Limited under the production of John R. Sloan with executive production from Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli. The original story was by Albert Z. Carr with the screenplay by Patrick Kirwan. It was directed by the...
(1961) - Village of DaughtersVillage of DaughtersVillage of Daughters is a 1962 British comedy film directed by George Pollock.-Plot:Herbert Harris is a traveling salesman who makes his way into a remote Italian village to sell his wares. There, he finds many single and attractive women who all pursue him madly. He quickly learns that the village...
(1961) - Kill or Cure (1962)
- I Thank a Fool (1962)
- Lancelot and GuinevereLancelot and GuinevereLancelot and Guinevere is a British 1963 film starring Cornel Wilde, his real-life wife at the time, Jean Wallace, and Brian Aherne...
(1962) - Postman's Knock (1962)
- Follow the Boys (1963)
- Murder at the GallopMurder at the GallopMurder at the Gallop is the second of four films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on the novel After the Funeral by Agatha Christie, and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Tingwell as Inspector Craddock and Stringer Davis as Mr. Stringer. The film changes the action...
(1963) - Ladies Who Do (1963)
- Murder Ahoy (1964)
- Murder Most FoulMurder Most FoulMurder Most Foul is the third of four films made by MGM loosely based on novels by Agatha Christie and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Bud Tingwell as Inspector Craddock, and Stringer Davis as Mr Stringer. The story is ostensibly based on the novel Mrs McGinty's Dead, but notably...
(1964) - 633 Squadron633 Squadron633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
(1964) - Of Human BondageOf Human BondageOf Human Bondage is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is generally agreed to be his masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although Maugham stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention." Maugham, who had...
(1964) - Those Magnificent Men in their Flying MachinesThose Magnificent Men in Their Flying MachinesThose Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a 1965 British comedy film starring Stuart Whitman and directed and co-written by Ken Annakin...
(1965) - The Alphabet Murders (1965)
- Operation CrossbowOperation Crossbow (film)Operation Crossbow is a British 1965 spy thriller and World War II film, made from a story from Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli and filmed at MGM-British Studios...
(1965) - The TrapThe Trap (1966 film)The Trap is an adventure/romance film released in 1966 starring Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed, written by David D. Osborn and directed by Sidney Hayers....
(1966)
- Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon (1966)
- Magnificent Two (1967)
- Where Eagles DareWhere Eagles DareWhere Eagles Dare is a 1968 World War II action-adventure spy film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Upper Austria and Bavaria....
(1968) - Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher (1968)
- Mrs Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968)
- Monte Carlo or BustMonte Carlo or BustMonte Carlo or Bust is a 1969 comedy film. The story is based on the Monte Carlo Rally - first raced in 1911 - and the film recalls this general era, set in the 1920s. The film is a British/French/Italian co-production, and was released in the United States under the title Those Daring Young Men in...
(1969) - Battle of BritainBattle of Britain (film)Battle of Britain is a 1969 Technicolor film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film broadly relates the events of the Battle of Britain...
(1969) - The Executioner (1970)
- The Selfish Giant (1971)
- Frenzy (1972)
- Gawain and the Green KnightGawain and the Green Knight (1973 film)Gawain and the Green Knight is a 1973 film directed by Stephen Weeks, and starring Murray Head as Gawain and Nigel Green in his final theatrical film as the Green Knight...
(1973) - The Little Mermaid (1974)
- The Happy Prince (1974)
- Deadly Strangers (1974)
- One of Our Dinosaurs is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is Missing is a 1975 British comedy film, which is set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The title is a parody of the...
(1975) - Spanish Fly (1975)
- Escape from the Dark (1976)
- Beauty and the Beast (1976)
- Born to Run (1977)
- Force 10 From NavaroneForce 10 from NavaroneForce 10 from Navarone is a 1978 war film loosely based on Alistair MacLean's 1968 novel of the same name Force 10 From Navarone. It is a sequel to the 1961 film, The Guns of Navarone. The parts of Mallory and Miller are played by Robert Shaw and Edward Fox...
(1978) - The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979)
- Clash of Loyalties (1983)
- ValhallaValhalla (film)Valhalla is a Danish animated feature film released in October 1986 by Metronome. Based on volumes one, four and five of the Interpresse/Carlsen comic book series, it was directed by Disney animator Jeffrey J. Varab and cartoonist Peter Madsen.-Production:...
(1986)
The Story of 'Frenzy' (video documentary)
Sources
- Ades, David 2001. "Goodwin, Ron". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley SadieStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
and John TyrrellJohn Tyrrell (professor of music)John Tyrrell was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1942. He studied at the universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Brno. In 2000 he was appointed Research Professor at Cardiff University....
. London: Macmillan Publishers. - Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4