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.
Stanley Myers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 6 October 1930 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England |
| Died | 9 November 1993 (aged 63) Kensington and Chelsea, London, England |
| Genres | Film score |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
| Spouse(s) | Eleanor Fazan |
Biography edit
Myers was born in Birmingham, England; as a teenager he went to King Edward's School in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham.[4] he married choreographer Eleanor Fazan.
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]
One night in 1966, Myers and Barry Fantoni had called into the Chi Chi club to discuss the music for the movie Kaleidoscope which was to star Warren Beatty and Susannah York. What they were after was a switched on song they needed for a switched on intense movie. The resident group called Romeo Z came on and caused the ceiling to shake. There they knew they had the band they wanted, and they got the band to record the song "Kaleidoscope" which appeared in the film and on the soundtrack album which was released on Warner Bros. W 1663 in October 1966[7][8]
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.[9][10]
The Pink Floyd website credits the brass parts on their 1968 song Corporal Clegg to "The Stanley Myers Orchestra".[11]
Myers is best known for "Cavatina" (1970), an evocative guitar piece, played by John Williams, 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, not performed by 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.[12] He also scored the film Wish You Were Here[13] 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][14]
Filmography edit
Film edit
1960s edit
| 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 edit
1980s edit
1990s edit
| 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 edit
| 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 |
References edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Stanley Myers". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016.
- ^ "Stanley Myers: The Deer Hunter". Classic FM. 22 August 2014.
- ^ a b c Nicolas Roeg, Obituary: Stanley Myers, The Independent, Saturday, 13 November 1993
- ^ "Stanley Myers". TV.com. CBS Interactive.
- ^ "The Deer Hunter and Other Themes". iTunes Store. 5 March 2001.
- ^ Kaleidoscope THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM (Amazon) - Back cover notes by Stanley Myers
- ^ Cash Box, 22 October 1966 - Page 38 ALBUM REVIEWS, POP BEST BETS
- ^ Smith, Gary A. (8 March 2006). Uneasy Dreams. McFarland. p. 129. ISBN 9780786426614.
- ^ "House of Whipcord (1974)". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016.
- ^ "Musicians (Studio)". Pink Floyd Music (1987) Limited. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ Burton, Alan; Chibnall, Steve (11 July 2013). Historical Dictionary of British Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810880269.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (24 July 1987). "Wish You Were Here (1987) FILM: 'WISH YOU WERE HERE'". The New York Times.
- ^ "Findmypast.com". Archived from the original on 31 August 2009.
External links edit
- Stanley Myers at IMDb
- Stanley Myers at the British Film Institute