Ronald Alfred Goodwin (17 February 19258 January 2003) was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included ''

Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It follows a joint British-American Special Operations Executive team of paratroopers raiding a castle (shot on loca ...

'', ''

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...

'', ''

633 Squadron ''633 Squadron'' is a 1964 British / American war film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, and Maria Perschy. The plot, which involves the exploits of a fictional World War II British bomber squadron, w ...

'', Margaret Rutherford's

Miss Marple Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of ...

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

, and ''

Frenzy ''Frenzy'' is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer was based on the 1966 novel '' Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Squa ...

''. Born in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England, 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 Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England ** Harrow, London, a town in London ** Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) ...

, London, where he attended Willesden County School and Pinner County Grammar School, in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

. From there he went on to study the trumpet in London at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and j ...

. Whilst working as a copyist, 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 A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...

'', with screenplay by Lawrence P. Bachmann. After Bachmann became executive producer at

MGM-British Studios MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established (as MGM London Films Denham) at Denham Film Studios in 1936. It was in limbo during the Second World War; however, following the end of hostilities, a facility was acquire ...

in 1959, Goodwin composed and conducted the music for most of its productions, as well as working for other film studios. In the 1980s Goodwin began concentrating on live orchestral performances and appeared as guest conductor with many

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

s at home and abroad including the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

, the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current musi ...

and the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Sympho ...

Biography

Early life

Goodwin was born in

to James Goodwin (died 1952), a policeman with the Metropolitan Police Force and Bessie Violet Goodwin née Godsland (died 1966), a clothing machinist and daughter of a labourer. James was originally from London, but had moved to

after being assigned to the Metropolitan Police's No. 3 (Devonport Dockyard) Division, marrying Bessie in her birthplace of Devonport in 1920.Lamb, Andrew
''Goodwin, Ron'', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''
Oxford University Press, online edition, 30 December 2011 Goodwin learned to play the piano by the age of five and returned to London four years later, where he attended Willesden County Grammar School. Whilst there, he learnt to play the trumpet and performed regularly in the school band. Upon the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the family moved to

, and Goodwin attended Pinner County Grammar School. It was here that he formed his own band – ''Ron Goodwin and the Woodchoppers''. He later studied the trumpet in London at the

Early career

In 1943, after a brief spell as an insurance clerk, Goodwin joined Campbell, Connelly and Company, a music publisher. His job was a copyist and arranger and went on to work in that role for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. He entered the world of movie music through documentary films, which he said was "a very good training". He worked as a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders ofte ...

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 Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during th ...

and Jimmy Young, including the latter's 1951 UK no 1 hit "Too Young". In the 1950s he joined

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 19 ...

, and worked alongside

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

. He accompanied

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

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 ''

'', 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 singles work included recordings with jazz and calypso singer Frank Holder.

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 scores for the first of four

films starring Margaret Rutherford, entitled '' Murder, She Said'' (1961). He later went on to compose for the remaining three Miss Marple films ''

Murder at the Gallop ''Murder at the Gallop'' (1963) is the second of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was based on the 1953 novel ''After the Funeral'' by Agatha Christie, and starred Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Charles "Bud" Ti ...

'' (1963), '' Murder Most Foul'' (1963) and ''

Murder Ahoy ''Murder Ahoy!'' is the last of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that starred Margaret Rutherford. As in the previous three, the actress plays Agatha Christie's amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple, with Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as ...

'' (1964). He scored two horror films, '' Village of the Damned'' (1960) and its sequel ''

Children of the Damned ''Children of the Damned'' is a 1964 British black-and-white science fiction horror film, a thematic sequel to 1960s '' Village of the Damned'', which concerns a group of children with similar psi-powers to those in the earlier film. The film ...

'' (1964). His music for war films is particularly well remembered. This includes work on ''

'' (1964), ''

Operation Crossbow ''Crossbow'' was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme. The main V-weapons were the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket – these were launched against Brita ...

'' (1965), ''

'' (1968), ''

'' (1969), for which he (mostly) replaced

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the canta ...

, plus '' Force Ten from Navarone'' (1978). After requests from the Band of the Royal Air Force, the opening from ''Battle of Britain'', originally titled ''Luftwaffe March'', was retitled '' Aces High'' and is now regularly played by military bands in the UK. He wrote the scores for '' Of Human Bondage'' (1964), ''

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 and 11 Minutes'' is a 1965 British period comedy film that satirizes the early years of aviation. Directed and co-written by Ken Annakin, the fi ...

'' (1965),

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''

'' (1972, replacing

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

), two movies featuring

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...

, and the

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

film, '' The Early Bird'' (1965). Goodwin's score for the 1966 film ''The Trap'' is now used by the BBC as the theme to the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

coverage. A 30-second variation of his 1969 composition for the film '' Monte Carlo or Bust'' is used as the intro for the

BBC Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC ...

panel game ''

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a par ...

''. Goodwin wrote several Disney film scores during the 1970s, including the one used for '' One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing'' (1975). He also composed the music and lyrics for a series of animated films. These included ''The Selfish Giant'' (1971), ''The Happy Prince'' (1974), and ''The Little Mermaid'' (also 1974). Goodwin's last film score was for the Danish-made animation film ''

Valhalla In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat ...

'' in 1986. He composed the

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network. Until 1974, this was prima ...

start up music used from their launch in July 1968 to the early 1980s, before ITV had breakfast television. Goodwin wrote the television advertising jingles such as Noddy's chant, "I like Ricicles: they're twicicle as nicicles", and the "

Mr Sheen Mr Sheen is the brand name of a range of cleaning materials, mainly floor and furniture polish, created in Australia in the 1950s by Samuel Taylor Pty Ltd. An aerosol, the product uses a combination of silicones, waxes and solvents and is curren ...

shines umpteen things clean" song, inspired by ''Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines''.

Later career

By 1987, 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

, 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 The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

, Hallé Orchestra,

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Or ...

, Ulster Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Australian Pops Orchestra, Danish Radio Orchestra and the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert 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 BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symp ...

. Goodwin was guest conductor at the Royal Academy of Music's Festival of British and American Film Music in June 1996.

Awards

In 1972, Goodwin 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 Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

, including a lifetime achievement award, and was a Fellow of the City of Leeds College of Music and a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. Goodwin was nominated for the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

award for best original score for the movie ''

'' (1972).

Personal life

Goodwin was married twice and had a son, Chris, from his first marriage. 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 enthusiastic about working with young people and was heavily involved with the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, Worthing Youth Orchestra,

City of Leeds College of Music Leeds Conservatoire (formerly known as The Leeds Music Centre, the City of Leeds College of Music, and Leeds College of Music) is a higher education music conservatoire based in the Quarry Hill district of Leeds, England. It was founded in ...

and the City of Birmingham Schools' Concert Orchestra. The road in which Goodwin lived with his family in

has since been renamed Goodwin Crescent in his memory.

Death

In December 2002, Goodwin completed his 32nd consecutive year of Christmas concerts in packed venues across the South of England. However, he had suffered from

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...

for many years and the condition had worsened with age. On 7 January 2003, having completed conducting a series of Christmas concerts with the

, he returned home and died in his sleep at Blacknest Cottage, Brimpton Common, Hampshire, on 8 January 2003, aged 77. He is buried at St Paul's Churchyard in nearby Ashford Hill.

Selected filmography

*'' Man with a Gun'' (1958) *''

I'm All Right Jack ''I'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 1958 novel ''Private Life'' by Alan Hackney. The film is a sequel ...

'' (1959) * ''

'' (1959) *''

The Trials of Oscar Wilde ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde'', also known as ''The Man with the Green Carnation'' and ''The Green Carnation'', is a 1960 British drama film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. I ...

'' (1960) *'' Village of the Damned'' (1960) *'' Murder She Said'' (1961) * '' Partners in Crime'' (1961) * '' Man at the Carlton Tower'' (1961) *''

Johnny Nobody ''Johnny Nobody'' is a 1961 British drama film made by Viceroy Films Limited, with John R. Sloan as producer, and Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli as executive producers. It was directed by the British film and stage actor Nigel Patrick, wh ...

'' (1961) *'' Invasion Quartet'' (1961) *''

Village of Daughters ''Village of Daughters'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by George Pollock and starring Eric Sykes, Scilla Gabel, John Le Mesurier, Grégoire Aslan, Graham Stark Graham William Stark (20 January 1922 – 29 October 2013) was an E ...

'' (1961) *''

I Thank a Fool ''I Thank a Fool'' is a 1962 British Metrocolor crime film made by Eaton (De Grunwald Productions) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in CinemaScope. It was directed by Robert Stevens and produced by Anatole de Grunwald from a screenplay by Karl Tunbe ...

'' (1962) *'' Kill or Cure'' (1962) *'' Postman's Knock'' (1962) *''

The Day of the Triffids ''The Day of the Triffids'' is a 1951 post-apocalyptic novel by the English science fiction author John Wyndham. After most people in the world are blinded by an apparent meteor shower, an aggressive species of plant starts killing people. Al ...

'' (1962) *'' Lancelot and Guinevere'' (1963) *'' Follow the Boys'' (1963) *''

'' (1963) *'' Ladies Who Do'' (1963) *''

'' (1964) *'' Murder Most Foul'' (1964) *''

'' (1964) *'' Of Human Bondage'' (1964) *''

'' (1964) *''

'' (1965) *'' The Alphabet Murders'' (1965) *'' The Early Bird'' (1965) *''

'' (1965) * ''The Trap'' (1966) *'' That Riviera Touch'' (1966) *''

Mister Ten Per Cent ''Mister Ten Per Cent'' is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake, Derek Nimmo and Wanda Ventham. It was shot at Elstree Studios and on location in London. It was the last in a series of four fil ...

'' (1968) *'' The Magnificent Two'' (1967) *'' Submarine X-1'' (1968) *''

'' (1968) *'' Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher'' (1968) *'' Monte Carlo or Bust'' (1969) *''

'' (1969) *'' The Executioner'' (1970) *'' The Selfish Giant'' (1971) *''

'' (1972) *'' Gawain and the Green Knight'' (1973) *'' The Happy Prince'' (1974) *'' Diamonds on Wheels'' (1974) *'' Deadly Strangers'' (1974) *'' One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing'' (1975) *''

Spanish Fly The Spanish fly (''Lytta vesicatoria'') is an aposematic emerald-green beetle in the blister beetle family (Meloidae). It is distributed across Eurasia. The species and others in its family were used in traditional apothecary preparation ...

'' (1975) *''

Escape from the Dark ''Escape from the Dark'' (American title: ''The Littlest Horse Thieves'') is a 1976 family drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions, directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Alastair Sim (in his final film role), Peter Barkworth and Maur ...

'' (1976) *''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...

'' (1976) *''Born to Run'' (1977) *'' Candleshoe'' (1977) *'' Force 10 from Navarone'' (1978) *''

The Spaceman and King Arthur ''Unidentified Flying Oddball'' is a 1979 science fiction comedy film. It is based on Mark Twain's 1889 novel ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'', directed by Russ Mayberry and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Released in the Un ...

'' (1979) *'' Clash of Loyalties'' (1983) *''

'' (1986)

Sources

*Ades, David 2001. "Goodwin, Ron". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicology, musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), whi ...

and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers. *Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 985 pages,

References

External links

* *
Detailed biography at The Robert Farnon Society

Ron Goodwin on YouTube

Ron Goodwin on Grooveshark Radio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Ron 1925 births 2003 deaths Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Deaths from asthma Easy listening musicians English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English film score composers English male film score composers English music arrangers Ivor Novello Award winners Light music composers People educated at Willesden County Grammar School Musicians from Plymouth, Devon People from Pinner 20th-century British conductors (music) People from West Berkshire District 20th-century British male musicians