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Stanley Myers

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Stanley Myers
Background information
Born6 October 1930
Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Died9 November 1993(1993-11-09) (aged 63)
Kensington and Chelsea, London, England
GenresFilm score
Occupation(s)Composer, conductor

Stanley Myers (6 October 1930 – 9 November 1993) was an English composer and conductor,[1] who scored over sixty films and television series, working closely with filmmakers Nicolas Roeg, Jerzy Skolimowski and Volker Schlöndorff.[2] He is best known for his guitar piece "Cavatina", composed for the 1970 film The Walking Stick and later used as the theme for The Deer Hunter.[3] He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music for Wish You Were Here (1987), and was an early collaborator with and mentor of Hans Zimmer.

Biography

Myers was born in Birmingham, England; as a teenager he went to King Edward's School in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham.[4]

Myers wrote incidental music for television: for example, The Reign of Terror, a 1964 serial in the television series Doctor Who; the theme to All Gas and Gaiters; and the theme for the BBC's Question Time.[5][6]

He is known for composing music for the cult horror films House of Whipcord, Frightmare, House of Mortal Sin and Schizo for filmmaker Pete Walker.[7][8]

The Pink Floyd website credits the brass parts on their 1968 song Corporal Clegg to "The Stanley Myers Orchestra".[9]

Myers is best known for "Cavatina" (1970), an evocative guitar piece that served as the signature theme for Michael Cimino's 1978 film The Deer Hunter, and for which Myers won the Ivor Novello Award.[1] A somewhat different version of this work, performed by John Williams, had appeared in The Walking Stick. And yet another version had lyrics added. Cleo Laine and Iris Williams, in separate recordings as He Was Beautiful, helped to make "Cavatina" become even more popular.[1]

During the 1980s, Myers worked frequently with director Stephen Frears. His score for Prick Up Your Ears (1987) won him a "Best Artistic Contribution" award at the Cannes Film Festival.[10] He also scored the film Wish You Were Here[11] and several low budget features (Time Traveller, Blind Date, The Wind, Zero Boys) for director Nico Mastorakis, collaborating with Hans Zimmer.[1] He won another Ivor Novello Award for his soundtrack to The Witches in 1991.[4]

Myers died of cancer aged 63 in Kensington and Chelsea, London.[4][12]

Filmography

Film

1960s

Year Title Director Notes
1966 Kaleidoscope Jack Smight
1967 Ulysses Joseph Strick
Separation Jack Bond
1968 The Night of the Following Day Hubert Cornfield
No Way to Treat a Lady Jack Smight Composed with Andrew Belling
Otley Dick Clement
1969 Man on Horseback Volker Schlöndorff Composed with Peter Sandloff
Two Gentlemen Sharing Ted Kotcheff
Age of Consent Michael Powell Composed with Peter Sculthorpe

1970s

Year Title Director Notes
1970 Tropic of Cancer Joseph Strick
The Walking Stick Eric Till
Underground Arthur H. Nadel
Take a Girl Like You Jonathan Miller
Tam-Lin Roddy McDowall
A Severed Head Dick Clement
1971 The Raging Moon Bryan Forbes
1972 Zee and Co. Brian G. Hutton
King, Queen, Knave Jerzy Skolimowski
Sitting Target Douglas Hickox
A Free Woman Volker Schlöndorff
1973 The Love Ban Ralph Thomas
The Blockhouse Clive Rees
Road Movie Joseph Strick
1974 House of Whipcord Pete Walker
Frightmare
Little Malcolm Stuart Cooper
Caravan to Vaccarès Geoffrey Reeve
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz Ted Kotcheff Composed with Andrew Powell
1975 The Wilby Conspiracy Ralph Nelson
Conduct Unbecoming Michael Anderson
1976 Schizo Pete Walker
House of Mortal Sin
Coup de Grâce Volker Schlöndorff
1977 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Joseph Strick
1978 The Greek Tycoon J. Lee Thompson
The Comeback Pete Walker
The Class of Miss MacMichael Silvio Narizzano
The Deer Hunter Michael Cimino
Absolution Anthony Page
1979 The Great Riviera Bank Robbery Francis Megahy
Yesterday's Hero Neil Leifer
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square Ralph Thomas

1980s

Year Title Director Notes
1980 Border Cop Christopher Leitch
The Watcher in the Woods John Hough
1981 Lady Chatterley's Lover Just Jaeckin Composed with Richard Harvey
1982 The Incubus John Hough
Moonlighting Jerzy Skolimowski
1983 Eureka Nicolas Roeg
The Honorary Consul John Mackenzie
1984 Success Is the Best Revenge Jerzy Skolimowski Composed with Hans Zimmer
Story of O - Chapter 2 Éric Rochat
Blind Date Nico Mastorakis
The Next One
The Chain Jack Gold
1985 The Lightship Jerzy Skolimowski
Insignificance Nicolas Roeg Composed with Hans Zimmer
My Beautiful Laundrette Stephen Frears
Dreamchild Gavin Millar
1986 Castaway Nicolas Roeg
The Zero Boys Nico Mastorakis Composed with Hans Zimmer
Separate Vacations Michael Anderson
The Wind Nico Mastorakis
1987 The Second Victory Gerald Thomas
Nightmare at Noon Nico Mastorakis Composed with Hans Zimmer
Wish You Were Here David Leland Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
Prick Up Your Ears Stephen Frears
The Nature of the Beast Franco Rosso Composed with Hans Zimmer
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid Stephen Frears
1988 Stars and Bars Pat O'Connor
Track 29 Nicolas Roeg
Taffin Francis Megahy Composed with Hans Zimmer
Paperhouse Bernard Rose
The Boost Harold Becker
1989 Torrents of Spring Jerzy Skolimowski
Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills Paul Bartel

1990s

Year Title Director Notes
1990 Ladder of Swords Norman Hull
The Witches Nicolas Roeg Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Music
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard
1991 Voyager Volker Schlöndorff
Cold Heaven Nicolas Roeg
1992 Claude Cindy Lou Johnson
Sarafina! Darrell Roodt Final film score

Television

Year Title Notes
1961 ITV Television Playhouse Episode: "A Resounding Tinkle"
1964 Doctor Who 6 episodes
"The Reign of Terror" serial
Diary of a Young Man 6 episodes
1965–66 The Wednesday Play
1967 Four Tall Tinkles 4 episodes
A Series of Bird's 6 episodes
1969 World in Ferment
1970 Charley's Grants
1967–71 All Gas and Gaiters 31 episodes
1973 Divorce His, Divorce Hers Television film
1973–84 Play for Today 4 episodes
1974 Shoulder to Shoulder Miniseries
1975 The Legend of Robin Hood
1978 Summer of My German Soldier Television film
1980 The Martian Chronicles Miniseries
1982 Nancy Astor
1982–83 Take Hart 35 episodes
1983 A Pattern of Roses Television film
1983–85 Widows 7 episodes
1984 Diana 10 episodes
The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood Television film
1985 My Brother Jonathan 5 episodes
Black Arrow Television film
Florence Nightingale
Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill
1986 Strong Medicine
Monte Carlo Miniseries
The Singing Detective
Nature Episode: "Pantanal: Prairie of Great Waters"
1986–93 Screen Two 6 episodes
1987 Scoop Television film
Pack of Lies
Strong Medicine
Harry's Kingdom
A Wreath of Roses
1988 Stones for Ibarra
Baja Oklahoma
Tidy Endings
Christabel Miniseries
1989 The Play on One Episode: "Heartland"
Danny, the Champion of the World Television film
Screenplay Episode: "A Small Mourning"
Age-Old Friends Television film
1990 Never Come Back 3 episodes
1991 A Murder of Quality Television film
1992 My Friend Walter
Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris
1993 Head over Heels 7 episodes
Stalag Luft Television film
Heart of Darkness
1994 Middlemarch Miniseries
Composed with Christopher Gunning

BAFTA TV Award for Best Original Music in a Dramatic Programme

[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 887–8. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  2. ^ "Stanley Myers". BFI.
  3. ^ "Stanley Myers: The Deer Hunter". Classic FM. 22 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Nicolas Roeg, Obituary: Stanley Myers, The Independent, Saturday, 13 November 1993
  5. ^ "Stanley Myers". TV.com. CBS Interactive.
  6. ^ "The Deer Hunter and Other Themes". iTunes Store.
  7. ^ Smith, Gary A. (8 March 2006). Uneasy Dreams. p. 129. ISBN 9780786426614.
  8. ^ "House of Whipcord (1974)". Bfi.org.uk.
  9. ^ "Musicians (Studio)". Pink Floyd Music (1987) Limited. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  10. ^ Burton, Alan; Chibnall, Steve (11 July 2013). Historical Dictionary of British Cinema. ISBN 9780810880269.
  11. ^ Maslin, Janet (24 July 1987). "Wish You Were Here (1987) FILM: 'WISH YOU WERE HERE'". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "Findmypast.com". Archived from the original on 31 August 2009.
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