Adrian Gerald Foley, 8th Baron Foley of Kidderminster (9 August 1923 – 12 February 2012
), was a British
peer
Peer may refer to:
Sociology
* Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group
* Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm"
Computing
* Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...
,
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
and
pianist.
Upon the death of his father,
Gerald Foley, 7th Baron Foley, in 1927, Adrian Foley succeeded to his title at the age of three. He wrote ''London I Cannot Leave You'' (1940) at the age of 17, having spent his childhood in Eastbourne. In 1942, he supported Britain's Soviet ally with the composition of the song, "Wishing You Well, Mr Stalin". He composed music for the films ''
Piccadilly Incident
''Piccadilly Incident'' is a 1946 British drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Coral Browne, Edward Rigby and Leslie Dwyer. Wilcox teamed his wife Anna Neagle with Michael Wilding for the first time, es ...
'' (1946) and ''
Bond Street
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...
'' (1947). He appeared on an episode of the American
game show ''
To Tell the Truth'' in 1957.
Personal life
In 1958, he met a wealthy American heiress, Patricia Meek, née Zoelner, during a stage production of ''
Jane Eyre'', produced by
Huntington Hartford in
New York City. On 23 December 1958, the couple married. They had two children: Alexandra Mary (born 1960) and Thomas Henry (born 1961), before divorcing in 1971. In 1972, he married another wealthy heiress,
Ghislaine (née Dresselhuys; former wife of both the
6th Earl of Caledon and the
4th Baron Ashcombe), the only daughter of
Dutch-born
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
resident and former Consul of the
Netherlands in
London, Cornelius William Dresselhuys and Edith Merandon du Plessis. His second wife died in 2000. On 15 December 2003, he married his third wife, Hannah Steinberg, a member of the
Wolfson family
The Wolfson family is a British Jewish family known for its business, philanthropic, and political activities. The family owes its initial fame to Sir Isaac Wolfson, who built the Great Universal Stores retail empire and created the Wolfson Fou ...
.
Death
Lord Foley enjoyed golf and maintained properties near to the golfing areas of the
Andalusian region of Spain for several decades. He owned property in
Belgravia,
London, and lived in retirement near
Marbella until his death in
Kidderminster in 2012, aged 88.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Adrian Foley, 8th Baron
1923 births
2012 deaths
English expatriates in Spain
English film score composers
English male film score composers
English classical pianists
English socialites
People from Kidderminster
Adrian
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century English musicians
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