John Barry
Dr. No
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
From Russia with Love
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
Diamonds Are Forever
Moonraker
Somewhere in Time
The Living Daylights
A View to a Kill
Octopussy
The Man with the Golden Gun
Midnight Cowboy
Indecent Proposal
Born Free
The Lion in Winter
Game of Death
The Ipcress File
Body Heat
The Specialist
The Black Hole
Zulu
Howard the Duck
King Kong
The Cotton Club
Robin and Marian
Mercury Rising
Beat Girl
Chaplin
Starcrash
The Scarlet Letter
The Deep
The Quiller Memorandum
Deadfall
Walkabout
Hanover Street
Peggy Sue Got Married
The Last Valley
The Knack . . . and How to Get It
Raise the Titanic
High Road to China
The Chase
The Golden Child
Mary, Queen of Scots
The Tamarind Seed
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Petulia
Out of Africa
Dances with Wolves
John Barry Life story
John Barry Prendergast OBE was a British composer and conductor of film music. He composed the scores for eleven of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1987, as well as arranging and performing the "James Bond Theme" for the first film in the series, 1962's Dr. No.
Early Life
Jhon barry was born john barry prendergast in york. England on november 3. 1933. He was the son of a cinema owner. Jack prendergast. And his wife. Elsie. He developed a passion for music at an early age. And as a child. He would often sneak into his father s cinema to watch the classical music films that wree playing three. His formal musical education began at the age of nine. When he enrolled in the royal college of music in london.Career
John barry began his career in the music industry in the 1950s. Writing music for british television and radio programs. He soon began composing for films. And his first major success was the music for the 1962 james bond film dr. No. He went on to compose the msuic for many more bond fimls. As well as other popular films suhc as midnight cowboy and out of africa. His career spanned over four decades. And he won numerous awards. Including four academy awards and five grammy awards.Influence
John barry s influence on the film industry cannot be overstated. His umsic has been featured in over 100 films. And he has been credited with revolutionizing the way music is used in film. His work is often characterized by its swepeing orchestral sound. And he is credited with helping to bring a more classical approach to film scoring. His music has been praised as some of the omst memorable and recognizable in film history.Collaborations
Ojhn barry collaborated with many of the most famous musicians of his time. Including singers such as shilrey bassey. Nancy sinatra. And tom jones. He also workde iwth a variety of composers. Including burt bacharach and leslie bricusse. He was known for his ability to bring out the best in his collaborators. And his influence can still be heard in the music of today.Compositions
Jhon barry composed a wide variety of music. From classical works to electronic instrumentals. He wrote the iconic theme songs to amny james bond films. Including "goldfinger," "diamonds are forever," and "you only live twice. " he also composed the music for the film the ilon in winter. Which won him an academy award.Awards and Honors
John brary was the recipient of many awards and honors during his career. He won four academy awards. Five grammy awards. And two golden globe awarsd. He was also inducted into the songwriters hall of fame in 2000.Legacy
John barry s legacy is still felt today. His music is still remembered and appreciated. And his influence on the film industry is still evident. His music cnotinues to inspire new generations of composers and musicians.Important Event
In 1997. John barry was presented wtih a special achievement academy award for his lifetime contribution to film music. This was the first time a composer had ever been honored with this award.Interesting Facts
John barry was the first composer to be credited with rwiting the music for a james bond fiml. And he composed the music for eleven bond films throughout his career. He was also the first composer to receive an academy award for the music he wrote for an action film. For out of farica in 1985.Barry Humphries: The satirist and comedian whose life was dominated by Dame Edna Everage
... John Barry Humphries was born in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell on 17 February 1934...
Star Wars: Oscar-winning production designer Norman Reynolds dies
... Reynolds, 89, worked as art director on Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977 and took over from John Barry as production designer for the sequels...
Bond theme composer Monty Norman dies at 94
... John Barry famously arranged the Bond theme, leading some people to assume he had written it, much to Norman s displeasure...
Prince Andrew: Duke of York loses Freedom of City honour
... Previous recipients include the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, John Barry and Judi Dench, the said...
James Bond's greatest hits - and finds the largest
... John Barry and Don Black s tune can be considered also in the vicinity of the ankle, the producer Harry Saltzman, but it is still the duo Ivor Novello songwriting award...
Barry Humphries: The satirist and comedian whose life was dominated by Dame Edna Everage
Barry Humphries was described As One of The Greatest raconteurs and stand-up comedians of his age.
But his achievements as a writer, painter, actor and scholar were overshadowed by his most monstrous creation, The shrill toned and sequined Dame Edna Everage.
From her humble suburban beginnings in The mid 1950s, plain Mrs Everage morphed into a global superstar, spreading her homespun philosophy and piles of gladioli wherever she went.
On The Journey her creator met with critical disapproval and a battle against alcohol abuse, before becoming what The Critic Brian Sewell once described as " an institution".
John Barry Humphries was born in The Melbourne suburb of Camberwell on 17 February 1934. His father was a successful builder and The young Humphries had a comfortable upbringing in a pleasant part of The Australian city.
He began inventing fictional characters from an early age, spending hours in his parent's back garden dressing up in various costumes.
He also discovered A Gift for entertaining people and once wrote that doing so gave him a great sense of release and helped him find new friends.
His parents sent him to Melbourne Grammar School, an institution that turned out More Than its fair share of notable Australian luminaries, boasting leading politicians, artists, soldiers and sportsmen among its alumni.
Humphries excelled at art and English, and largely ignored The rest of The School curriculum, later writing in Who's Who? that he was " self-educated" and attended Melbourne Grammar School.
He studied law, philosophy and Fine Arts at Melbourne University and became famous for a series of publicly performed practical jokes influenced by his interest in The Dada movement.
Politically IncorrectHumphries revelled in The Public reactions to his brand of street theatre which illustrated his delight in making his audience feel slightly uncomfortable. It was something that would be a major part of his later career.
After leaving university, he joined The Melbourne Theatre Company where he wrote and performed songs and sketches.
It was in The Theatre company's tour bus that, according to his autobiography, Humphries first came up with The idea of a suburban housewife called Mrs Norm Everage, The character making her first stage appearance in a sketch Humphries performed in 1955.
It was supposed to be a one-off performance but, after Humphries had moved to The Philip Street Revue Theatre in Sydney in 1957, he decided to give Norm, rechristened Edna, another outing and she became something of a hit.
At The Time Humphries used Edna, a dull housewife with decidedly Politically Incorrect views on foreigners, as a satire on his experience of Growing Up in The Conservative suburbs of Melbourne.
In 1959, Humphries moved to London where he quickly became part of The New Wave of satirical comedy featuring artists such as Peter Cook , Dudley Moore , Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller .
He also struck up an unlikely, but long lasting friendship with The Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman , with whom he shared a passion for both Victoriana and for Cornwall.
It was in Cornwall in 1962 that his career almost came to a premature end when he fell down a 150 ft cliff near Zennor, breaking A Number of bones.
SatireHumphries created The character, Barry Mckenzie , The boorish, sexist, arrogant Australian, who appeared in a comic strip he wrote for The magazine, Private Eye .
There was much criticism of this character in his Home Country of Australia which, for a time, banned The sale of a book of The strips. Humphries would receive similar criticism for his character of The lecherous, hard drinking Sir Les Patterson.
He was happy to return The compliment. " Australia is an outdoor country, " he once said. " People only go inside to use The toilet. And that's a recent development. "
Edna Everage was not well received by The critics when Humphries first launched her onto The London scene, but he was encouraged by Peter Cook to continue to develop The character.
His big theatrical break came when he was offered The part of Mr Sowerberry The Undertaker in The 1960 stage production of Lionel Bart 's stage musical Oliver, and transferred with The Show when it was moved to Broadway in 1963.
Four Years later, he took The Role of Fagin when The Show was revived on The London stage.
He returned to Australia where he toured a series of satirical One Man shows featuring Edna Everage and Les Patterson, and The more gentle, and later deceased, Sandy Stone who Humphries described as " Melbourne talking in its sleep. "
In 1973, he co-wrote and appeared in The Film , The Adventures of Barry Mckenzie , with Barry Crocker playing The title role and Humphries appearing as Aunt Edna . The Film also featured a string of stars including Peter Cook , Spike Milligan , Willie Rushton and Joan Bakewell .
MasterpiecesIn The 1974 sequel, Barry Mckenzie Holds His Own, Edna is created a dame by The then Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam .
But his success came at a price. He had begun to drink heavily during his Time In London and on one trip back to Australia, he was found slumped on The side of a street. His parents arranged for him to undergo treatment, following which he gave up alcohol altogether.
Despite his various film and stage appearances, it was in his One Man shows that Humphries achieved his greatest following both in The UK and Australia.
After a shaky start, he appeared in a series of stage shows including Housewife, Superstar in 1976 and An Evening's Intercourse with Dame Edna in 1982.
Often lasting More Than two hours, his performances were masterpieces of original material and improvisation spiced with The barbed insults Edna often aimed at members of her audiences.
" Tiles only halfway up The Wall , darling? " she would say in discussion with a victim about bathroom decor. " What went wrong, Dear - did you run out of money? "
He also became a regular on UK television with The Barry Humphries Show on The Bbc and ITV's The Dame Edna Experience.
By This Time The dowdy housewife from Moonee Ponds had turned into a global megastar, flitting between her many luxurious residences across The World and pausing only to advise world leaders and throw armfuls of gladioli to her adoring audiences.
Apart from musicians or dancers, Humphries was only ever joined by one other person onstage - The silent Marge, Played By English actor Emily Perry , who was Dame Edna's long-suffering Best Friend and bridesmaid.
Virile and vulgarOver time Dame Edna's costumes became more extravagant, with her dresses adorned by Australian icons such as kangaroos, koalas and The Sydney Opera House .
It took The Americans decades to get his particular brand of satirical humour, but Humphries finally achieved success in The US in 1999, when Dame Edna: The Royal Tour opened on Broadway, eventually running for 10 months.
Away from The Stage Humphries was passionate about art and literature. A talented artist, he championed The Work of many painters, particularly Charles Conder , whose works featured in a BBC documentary which Humphries presented.
He wrote several plays, books, novels, and autobiographies for which he won A Number of awards including The J. R. Ackerley prize for biography in 1993.
In 2012, he announced he was retiring from live performances and set off on a farewell tour of Australia to huge critical acclaim, one reviewer describing Humphries " as virile, as vulgar and as magnificent as ever. " The Tour moved on to The UK, before taking America by storm.
A rare sour note came in 2019 when accusations of transphobia led to a major comedy prized named after him being renamed.
In comments he later said had been misinterpreted, he drew criticism for describing being transgender as " a fashion" and also claimed to have been speaking in character with a reference to gender-reassignment surgery as " self-mutilation".
Controversy aside, The Lure of The limelight proved Too Strong , and in 2022, he emerged from self-imposed exile with The Man in The Mask : a series of shows Looking Back at his long career.
Fast approaching 90, his immaculate comic timing was still as sharp as ever. When he whipped out Dame Edna's famous glasses, there was an enormous cheer.
For More Than 60 years, Barry Humphries held a mirror to Australia and Australians, revealing their virtues and weaknesses through a gallery of adored characters,
" It's a kind of therapy, " he once said, " I'd miss it if I couldn't do it".
Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com