Ron Goodwin
Overview
- AKA Ron Goddwyn
- Occupation Composer
- Also Conductor, Musical Direction/Supervision
- Birthname Ronald Alfred Goodwin
- Birthdate February 17, 1925
- Birthplace Plymouth, Devon, England
- Died January 8, 2003 (Brimpton Common, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK)
Biography
Ron Goodwin started his music proffession in 1941 when he joined the music publisher Campbell, Connely & Co Ltd. He was the head of arranging department at Bron Associated Publishers from 1945-50. During these years arrangements for all the leading broadcasting bands and orchestras.
In 1950 he started working as musical director for Parlophone (EMI) records and he acconmpanied artists like Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren. He also started recording and broadcasting as Ron Goodwin and his orchestra.
He wrote his first movie-score for a movie entitled Whirlpool (1958) and after that he began his association with MGM British Studios. He composes and conducted music for 61 films, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy (1972) and Harry Saltzman’s Battle of Britain (1969).
Selected films
- Blackmail - 1929
- Whirlpool - 1958
- I'm All Right Jack - 1959
- Village of the Damned - 1960
- Invasion Quartet - 1961
- Postman's Knock - 1962
- Kill or Cure - 1962
- I Thank a Fool - 1962
- Follow the Boys - 1963
- Lancelot and Guinevere - 1963
- Murder at the Gallop - 1963
- 633 Squadron - 1964
- Of Human Bondage - 1964
- Operation Crossbow - 1965
- Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines - 1965
- Trap, The - 1966
- That Riviera Touch - 1966
- Magnificent Two, The - 1967
- Decline and Fall... of a Bird Watcher - 1968
- Where Eagles Dare - 1969
- Monte Carlo or Bust - 1969
- Battle of Britain - 1969
- Frenzy - 1972
- Littlest Horse Thieves, The - 1977
- Force 10 from Navarone - 1978
- Day of the Triffids, The - 1981
- Valhalla - 1992
- Sabouteur: A Closer Look - 2000
Selected records
- Music to Set You Dreaming - 1956
- It Can't Be Wrong - 1957
- Out of the World - 1958
- Swingin' Sweathearts - 1958
- Music for an Arabian Night - 1959
- Ron Goodwin and his Magic Strings - 1961
- Serenade - 1961
- Holiday in Beirut - 1962
- Smooth Sounds of Ron Goodwin - 1964
- Of Human Bondage - 1964
- Sunrise Serenade - 1965
- Adventure - 1966
- Christmas Wonderland - 1967
- Gypsy Fire - 1967
- Legend of Glass Mountain - 1968
- Excitement - 1970
- Ron Goodwin in Concert - 1971
- Ron Goodwin... - 1972
- Spellbound - 1972
- Ron Goodwin & His Orchestra Play Burt Bacharach - 1972
- Warsaw Concerto - 1973
- Rhythm and Romance - 1976
- Going Places - 1978
- Beatles Concerto - 1979
- My Kind of Music - 1989
- Mozart Magic - 1990
- Classic Love Songs - 1992
- Ron Goodwin conducts Film and TV Themes - 1997
Curiosa
- He was married with Heather Goodwin. Toegther they had one son, Christopher.
- He conducted The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in many concerts of film music at the Colston Hall, Bristol, England.
- Ron went for his elementary education to the Willesden County Grammar school, situated in the North-West of London.
- A problem for Goodwin was that his best scores were made in a period when film producers were not particularly interested in releasing a soundtrack, so many of them failed to get a release.