Richard Paul Ferris (2 May 1941 – 30 October 1995) was an English composer and actor. Born in Corby,

Northamptonshire, England Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authority, unitary authorities: North N ...

, Ferris provided scores for various

low budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

British horror films during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Career

Ferris began made a few acting appearances from 1961 such as '' Dixon of Dock Green'' and the 1964 comedy film '' Rattle of a Simple Man''. In 1965 he was seen as John Mannering's sidekick David Marlowe in ''

The Baron Baron is a title of nobility. Baron, The Baron or Barons may also refer to: Places * Barons, Alberta, Canada * Baron, Gard, France * Baron, Gironde, France * Baron, Oise, France * Baron, Saône-et-Loire, France * Baron-sur-Odon, France * Bar ...

'' before his character was replaced by Sue Lloyd at the insistence of American television executives. He briefly appeared in the 1967 James Bond spoof '' Casino Royale'' as one of Vesper Lynd's business staff. As a songwriter, Ferris wrote Cliff Richard's 1966 number 7 UK hit "

Visions Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

" and The Shadows' 1967 number 24 UK hit "Maroc 7" from the film of the same name. He is probably best known for his rousing score for

Michael Reeves Michael Reeves (17 October 1943 – 11 February 1969) was an English film director and screenwriter. He is best remembered for the 1968 film ''Witchfinder General'' (known in the US as ''Conqueror Worm''). A few months after the film's rel ...

' '' Witchfinder General'' (1968), in which he also appeared in a

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

under the pseudonym "Morris Jar" (in tribute to composer Maurice Jarre). Due to convoluted rights issues, Ferris's critically acclaimed music had been wiped from the soundtrack for the film's U.S. videotape and

laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

releases for decades, replaced by a generic

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

score by Kendall Schmidt. Lucas, Tim. ''The Video Watchdog Book'', Video Watchdog, 1992. In 2007 the film was released on DVD under the MGM Midnite Movies banner by

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

, with Ferris's score intact. He also scored Reeves' ''

The She Beast ''The She Beast'' is a 1966 horror film written and directed by Michael Reeves in his directorial debut. The film stars Barbara Steele, John Karlsen and Ian Ogilvy. Plot The film starts in Transylvania with an alcoholic, Abraham Van Helsing, Co ...

'' (1966) and '' The Sorcerers'' (1967), as well as other British films including '' The Blood Beast Terror'' (1967), '' Clegg'' (1970), ''

The Creeping Flesh ''The Creeping Flesh'' is a 1973 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis, written by Peter Spenceley, and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Lorna Heilbron. Plot Prof. Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing), a Victorian era scien ...

'' (1973) and ''

Persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

'' (1974).

Death

A long-time sufferer of Huntington's Chorea, Ferris died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

by drug overdose at the age of 54.Halligan, Benjamin. ''Michael Reeves'', Manchester University Press, 2003.

References

External links

* 1941 births 1995 deaths Drug-related suicides in England English male television actors English film score composers English male film score composers People from Corby 20th-century English male actors 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 1995 suicides {{UK-composer-stub