Leslie Bricusse

Leslie Bricusse
Birth name	Leslie Bricusse
Born	(1931-01-29) 29 January 1931
Origin	London, England, U.K.
Occupations	Composer, lyricist, playwright
Years active	1952 to present
Associated acts	Anthony Newley

Leslie Bricusse (born 29 January 1931) is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.

Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge University, he was Secretary of Footlights between 1952 and 1953 and Footlights President during the following year. He currently lives in California in the United States, and he is married to the actress Yvonne Romain.

Sammy Davis, Jr. had hits with two of Bricusse's songs, "What Kind of Fool Am I?" (from Stop the World - I Want to Get Off) and the #1 hit "The Candy Man" (from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory). Other recording artists who have had popular success with his songs include Matt Monro and Frank Sinatra ("My Kind of Girl"), Shirley Bassey ("Goldfinger"), Harry Secombe ("If I Ruled the World"), Nancy Sinatra ("You Only Live Twice"), Maureen McGovern ("Can You Read My Mind"), and Diana Krall ("When I Look in Your Eyes"). Bricusse also partnered with George Tipton to write the opening theme of the U.S. television series It's a Living.

Works

Musicals

• Stop the World – I Want to Get Off (with Newley) (1961) - includes "Once in a Lifetime" and "What Kind of Fool Am I?"
• Pickwick - with Cyril Ornadel (1963)
• The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (with Newley) (1965) - includes "Who Can I Turn to (When Nobody Needs Me)?" and "Feeling Good"
• Doctor Dolittle (1967) - includes "Talk to the Animals"
• Sweet November (with Newley)
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
• Scrooge (with Ian Fraser; Herbert W. Spencer) (1970) - includes "Thank You Very Much"
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (with Newley) (1971)
• Beyond the Rainbow (lyrics only) (1978)
• The Good Old Bad Old Days (with Newley) (1974)
• Peter Pan (television, with Newley) (1976)
• Victor Victoria (film with Henry Mancini) (1982)
• Sherlock Holmes: The Musical - book, music, and lyrics by Bricusse (1989)
• Hook (with John Williams) (1991) - includes "When You're Alone"
• Jekyll & Hyde (lyrics only) (1990/1994/1997)
• Scrooge (1992 Broadway musical)
• Victor/Victoria (1995 Broadway adaptation)
• Cyrano de Bergerac The Musical (2009, Tokyo, with Frank Wildhorn)
• Sammy (2009) - Old Globe Theatre

Songs

• "Out of Town" (1956)
• "My Kind of Girl" (1961)
• "What Kind of Fool Am I?" (1963)
• "Goldfinger" (with John Barry and Anthony Newley) from Goldfinger (1964)
• "You Only Live Twice" (with Barry) from You Only Live Twice (1967)
• "Two for the Road" (with Henry Mancini) from Two for the Road (1967)
• "Talk to the Animals" from Doctor Dolittle (1967)
• "Your Zowie Face" for film In Like Flint, music by Jerry Goldsmith (1967)
• "Candy Man" and "Pure Imagination" (with Newley) from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
• "Can You Read My Mind (Love Theme)" (with John Williams) from Superman (1978)
• "Making Toys", "Every Christmas Eve/Santa's Theme (Giving)", "It's Christmas Again", "Patch! Natch!" and "Thank You, Santa!" (with Henry Mancini) from Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
• "Life in a Looking Glass" (with Henry Mancini) from That's Life (1986)
• "Somewhere in My Memory" from Home Alone (with John Williams) (1990)
• "When You're Alone", "We Don't Wanna Grow Up" from Hook (with John Williams) (1991)
• "Christmas at Hogwarts" (with John Williams) in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
• "The Perfect Song" (with Andrew Lloyd Webber) for Michael Ball.

Awards

• Grammy Award
  • Song of the Year, 1963 - "What Kind of Fool Am I"
• Academy Award
  • Best Original Song, 1967 - "Talk to the Animals"
  • Best Adaptation and Original Song Score, 1982 - Victor/Victoria
• Songwriters Hall of Fame

Nominations

• Tony Award
  • Best Musical, 1963 - Stop the World - I Want to Get Off
  • Tony Award for Best Score, 1963 - "Stop the World - I Want to Get Off"
  • Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, 1963 - "Stop the World - I Want to Get Off"
  • Tony Award for Best Score of a Musical, 1965 - "The Roar of Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd"
  • Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, 1997 - "Jekyll & Hyde"
• Academy Awards
  • Original Music Score, 1967 - Doctor Dolittle
  • Original Music Score, 1969 - Goodbye, Mr. Chips
  • Original Song Score, 1970 - Scrooge
  • Best Song, 1970 - "Thank You Very Much"
  • Adaptation and Original Song Score, 1971 - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
  • Best Song, 1986 - "Life in a Looking Glass"
  • Best Song, 1990 - "Somewhere in My Memory"
  • Best Song, 1991 - "When You're Alone"
• Golden Raspberry Award
  • Worst 'Original' Song, 1986 - "Life in a Looking Glass"

External links

• Leslie Bricusse at the Internet Movie Database
• Leslie Bricusse at Allmusic
• Leslie Bricusse at the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Cultural offices
Preceded by Peter Firth	Footlights President 1953–1954	Succeeded by Brian Marber