Famous composer, Monty Norman – who wrote the now iconic theme music for the James Bond franchise – has died at the age of 94.
Over the years he has curated some of the most famous songs and theme tunes from a slew of musicals and films which stormed to success in the heart of Hollywood.
But after more than six decades producing numerous hit tracks, his family confirmed how he had fallen sick with a sudden illness which unfortunately led to his death.
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A statement about the sad news of his passing was confirmed on his official website which read: “It is with sadness we share the news that Monty Norman died on 11th July 2022 after a short illness.”
(Image: PA)
Norman was born Monty Noserovitch in a little town named Stepney in the heart of east London to Jewish parents, however the musician was later evacuated from the capital during the early days of the Blitz during the Second World War.
The talented musician first found a taste for music at the age of 16 when his mother bought him a guitar after she haggled the seller’s price down from £17 to £15 where his love of the Beatles and Eric Clapton started to flourish.
But it wasn’t until the 1950s and 60s that he first started his lengthy career as a singer in big bands including those led by Cyril Stapleton, Ted Heath and Nat Temple.
(Image: Getty Images)
Before he forged a career writing intense music for films and musicals, he appeared on variety show line-ups alongside huge names in the comedy circuit such as Tony Hancock and Spike Milligan.
He and funnyman Benny Hill later took a double act variety show on the road where they took it in turns to headline the show based on whether the town they were performing in preferred comedy or music.
Further down the line, the Londoner slowly started to build up his portfolio as a composer after he wrote songs for Sir Cliff Richard and early rock and roll star Sit Tommy Steele.
He also producer a slew of songs for musicals such as Make Me An Offer and Expresso Bongo in 1959.
But the star is arguably most known for his now legendary scoring for the first James Bond film back in 1962, Dr No which starred Sir Sean Connery.
The iconic music was recorded back in 1962 using five saxophones, nine brass instruments, a solo guitar and a rhythm section.
His memorable music has recurred throughout the 24 subsequent films for the epic movie franchise, but not everyone was blown away by the infamous spy soundtrack.
In fact, movie bosses were disappointed with Norman’s arrangement and even drafter a young composer named John Barry to rearrange the piece behind closed doors.
Barry – who worked on the likes of Out Of Africa, Born Free and Midnight Cowboy – later went on to claim that he was the composer behind the well-known theme music.
(Image: Sygma via Getty Images)
However all claims of his contribution to the melody was thrown out of the window when Norman won a libel action against The Sunday Times for publishing a similar allegation.
The star continued to show off his musical prowess well into the 1980s and beyond with his West End musical success Songbook.
His talent shone through in his lyrics and composition for the musical which stormed to success both in the UK and across the pond on Broadway, and even went on to win Evening Standard, Olivier and Ivor Novello best musical awards.
(Image: Getty Images)
That decade also saw the success of his pantomime-style musical Poppy which ran for more than the year at the Barbican and Adelphi theatres in London and also won a Sweet – now known as an Olivier award – for best musical.
Fans of the musician flooded to Twitter to pass on their sweet messages of condolences to the talented star’s family online.
One user penned: “Just heard of the passing of Monty Norman. His significance on the Bond franchise cannot be underestimated, or indeed his impact on all cinema that followed 1962’s Dr No. RIP #JAMESBOND #composer #montynorman.”
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Another agreed: “How many of us were inspired to play you tune? (me age 11). There has never been a more iconic theme tune composed for any #movie franchise in the history of #Cinema – So, I both honour you and offer you my appreciation along with my total #respect – Peace #MontyNorman 001.”
A third added: “#MontyNorman has died – a talented composer who gained screen immortality by writing The James Bond Theme – cinema’s catches tune for the next six decades. RIP.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
