Biography
During the latter half of the twentieth century, Leslie Bricusse crafted numerous unforgettable themes for both stage productions and films. Serving as both composer and lyricist, this native of London supplied words to compositions by Henry Mancini, John Williams, John Barry, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, though his most common association came with Anthony Newley, who excelled as a songwriter, singer, and actor. Their joint efforts produced the Tony-nominated stage works Stop the World -- I Want to Get Off from 1961 and The Roar of the Greasepaint -- The Smell of the Crowd from 1965, in addition to music nominated for an Academy Award in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The track "The Candy Man" from that picture achieved a number one position on the charts thanks to Sammy Davis, Jr. While the duo contributed lyrics to the James Bond song "Goldfinger," Bricusse handled the lyrics independently for the title track of the subsequent Bond installment You Only Live Twice. Nominated nine times for Oscars, Bricusse secured victories twice: once for the solo composition "Talk to the Animals" featured in the 1967 production Doctor Doolittle, and again for his collaborative score with Mancini in 1982's Victor/Victoria. Returning to theatrical endeavors, his fifth and concluding Tony nomination arrived in the category of Best Book of a Musical for Jekyll & Hyde upon its Broadway premiere in 1997. Remaining productive into the 2000s, he supplied lyrics to "Christmas at Hogwarts" appearing in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone from 2001, and crafted both the book and lyrics for the 2009 stage production Cyrano. The year 2015 saw the release of his memoir titled Pure Imagination: A Sorta-Biography.
Born January 29, 1931 in Greater London, Bricusse presided over Cambridge University's renowned Footlights Revue Club during his university years, where he co-wrote, directed, and performed in its inaugural musical productions Out of the Blue and Lady at the Wheel. In 1954 he joined the cast of An Evening with Beatrice Lillie at the same time he composed the film musical Charley Moon; one number from that picture, "Out of Town," reached the U.K. Top 20 for star Max Bygraves and brought Bricusse his initial Ivor Novello Award. A second Novello followed in 1961 for "My Kind of Girl," which rose to Top Five status for Matt Munro. That year Bricusse and his songwriting partner Anthony Newley journeyed to New York to create the musical Stop the World -- I Want to Get Off. Opening in London that summer, the show proved successful, introducing the enduring standard "What Kind of Fool Am I?" along with the well-known numbers "Once in a Lifetime" and "Gonna Build a Mountain." Five Tony Award nominations followed, encompassing categories for Best Musical and Best Composer and Lyricist.
Bricusse next worked with Cyril Ornadel on the 1963 musical Pickwick, which produced the hit "If I Ruled the World." He rejoined Newley the following year for The Roar of the Greasepaint -- The Smell of the Crowd, yielding the popular songs "Who Can I Turn To?" and "Feeling Good." Later chart appearances of "Feeling Good" included versions by Nina Simone and Michael Bublé, while samples of Simone's recording surfaced in tracks by Jay-Z and Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, and Avicii. Also in 1964, Bricusse and Newley furnished the lyrics for John Barry's title theme to the James Bond film Goldfinger, a hit recorded by singer Shirley Bassey. Four years afterward the pair again teamed with Barry on the theme for the Bond entry You Only Live Twice. In between, Bricusse wrote the screenplay and score for the musical fantasy Doctor Doolittle, which starred Newley and Rex Harrison. Although the film underperformed commercially, it earned its author an Academy Award for the song "Talk to the Animals." An Oscar nomination for the score to Goodbye, Mr. Chips arrived the next year, followed by another for 1970's Scrooge that included a further nomination for Bricusse's song "Thank You Very Much." The greatest success came with the 1971 hit film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, whose soundtrack featured "The Candy Man," a chart-topping single for Sammy Davis, Jr. the year after its release. Also a collaboration with Newley, the album supplied the movie standard "Pure Imagination."
Bricusse and Newley returned to the stage with 1974's The Good Old Bad Old Days, whose title song appeared alongside numbers such as "I Do Not Love You" and "It's a Musical World." The collaborators reunited in 1976 for a television musical adaptation of Peter Pan that starred Mia Farrow as Pan and Danny Kaye as Captain Hook. Bricusse reemerged in 1978 with contributions to Superman: The Movie ("Can You Read My Mind," with John Williams) and The Revenge of the Pink Panther ("Move 'Em Out," with Henry Mancini), then captured a second Oscar for his score to Blake Edwards' 1982 musical comedy Victor/Victoria, another collaboration with Mancini. Subsequent Oscar nominations encompassed 1986's "Life in a Looking Glass" (from That's Life, with Mancini) and the Williams collaborations "Somewhere in My Memory" (1990's Home Alone) and "When You're Alone" (1991's Hook).
Bricusse received the Kennedy Award for excellence in British songwriting in 1989 and became only the fourth Briton inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame, following Noel Coward, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney. That same year his musical Sherlock Holmes premiered in London, although it met with unfavorable reviews. In 1995 the score to Victor/Victoria was adapted for Broadway, once again starring Julie Andrews in the leading role. The 1990 musical Jekyll & Hyde, which featured lyrics by Bricusse, Steve Cuden, and Frank Wildhorn, music by Wildhorn, and a book by Bricusse, reached Broadway in 1997 and earned Bricusse a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. A stage version of Doctor Dolittle, with music, lyrics, and book all by Bricusse, opened in London the following year. Williams called on Bricusse for lyrics to "Christmas at Hogwarts" from 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Another stage musical, Cyrano (with book and lyrics by Bricusse and music by Wildhorn), premiered in Tokyo in 2009 after plans for a West End opening were abandoned. Bricusse's name appeared again in 2013 on "The Perfect Song" from vocalist Michael Ball's album Both Sides Now. Reportedly conceived during a luncheon challenge, Bricusse offered the song title to friend Andrew Lloyd Webber, who composed the melody during the taxi ride home before returning it to Bricusse, who finished the lyrics within a day.
Bricusse published his memoir, Pure Imagination: A Sorta-Biography, in 2015. That year the revue Pure Imagination: The Musical World of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse premiered in Venice, California. Bricusse died on October 19, 2021 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France; he was 90 years old.
Born January 29, 1931 in Greater London, Bricusse presided over Cambridge University's renowned Footlights Revue Club during his university years, where he co-wrote, directed, and performed in its inaugural musical productions Out of the Blue and Lady at the Wheel. In 1954 he joined the cast of An Evening with Beatrice Lillie at the same time he composed the film musical Charley Moon; one number from that picture, "Out of Town," reached the U.K. Top 20 for star Max Bygraves and brought Bricusse his initial Ivor Novello Award. A second Novello followed in 1961 for "My Kind of Girl," which rose to Top Five status for Matt Munro. That year Bricusse and his songwriting partner Anthony Newley journeyed to New York to create the musical Stop the World -- I Want to Get Off. Opening in London that summer, the show proved successful, introducing the enduring standard "What Kind of Fool Am I?" along with the well-known numbers "Once in a Lifetime" and "Gonna Build a Mountain." Five Tony Award nominations followed, encompassing categories for Best Musical and Best Composer and Lyricist.
Bricusse next worked with Cyril Ornadel on the 1963 musical Pickwick, which produced the hit "If I Ruled the World." He rejoined Newley the following year for The Roar of the Greasepaint -- The Smell of the Crowd, yielding the popular songs "Who Can I Turn To?" and "Feeling Good." Later chart appearances of "Feeling Good" included versions by Nina Simone and Michael Bublé, while samples of Simone's recording surfaced in tracks by Jay-Z and Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, and Avicii. Also in 1964, Bricusse and Newley furnished the lyrics for John Barry's title theme to the James Bond film Goldfinger, a hit recorded by singer Shirley Bassey. Four years afterward the pair again teamed with Barry on the theme for the Bond entry You Only Live Twice. In between, Bricusse wrote the screenplay and score for the musical fantasy Doctor Doolittle, which starred Newley and Rex Harrison. Although the film underperformed commercially, it earned its author an Academy Award for the song "Talk to the Animals." An Oscar nomination for the score to Goodbye, Mr. Chips arrived the next year, followed by another for 1970's Scrooge that included a further nomination for Bricusse's song "Thank You Very Much." The greatest success came with the 1971 hit film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, whose soundtrack featured "The Candy Man," a chart-topping single for Sammy Davis, Jr. the year after its release. Also a collaboration with Newley, the album supplied the movie standard "Pure Imagination."
Bricusse and Newley returned to the stage with 1974's The Good Old Bad Old Days, whose title song appeared alongside numbers such as "I Do Not Love You" and "It's a Musical World." The collaborators reunited in 1976 for a television musical adaptation of Peter Pan that starred Mia Farrow as Pan and Danny Kaye as Captain Hook. Bricusse reemerged in 1978 with contributions to Superman: The Movie ("Can You Read My Mind," with John Williams) and The Revenge of the Pink Panther ("Move 'Em Out," with Henry Mancini), then captured a second Oscar for his score to Blake Edwards' 1982 musical comedy Victor/Victoria, another collaboration with Mancini. Subsequent Oscar nominations encompassed 1986's "Life in a Looking Glass" (from That's Life, with Mancini) and the Williams collaborations "Somewhere in My Memory" (1990's Home Alone) and "When You're Alone" (1991's Hook).
Bricusse received the Kennedy Award for excellence in British songwriting in 1989 and became only the fourth Briton inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame, following Noel Coward, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney. That same year his musical Sherlock Holmes premiered in London, although it met with unfavorable reviews. In 1995 the score to Victor/Victoria was adapted for Broadway, once again starring Julie Andrews in the leading role. The 1990 musical Jekyll & Hyde, which featured lyrics by Bricusse, Steve Cuden, and Frank Wildhorn, music by Wildhorn, and a book by Bricusse, reached Broadway in 1997 and earned Bricusse a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. A stage version of Doctor Dolittle, with music, lyrics, and book all by Bricusse, opened in London the following year. Williams called on Bricusse for lyrics to "Christmas at Hogwarts" from 2001's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Another stage musical, Cyrano (with book and lyrics by Bricusse and music by Wildhorn), premiered in Tokyo in 2009 after plans for a West End opening were abandoned. Bricusse's name appeared again in 2013 on "The Perfect Song" from vocalist Michael Ball's album Both Sides Now. Reportedly conceived during a luncheon challenge, Bricusse offered the song title to friend Andrew Lloyd Webber, who composed the melody during the taxi ride home before returning it to Bricusse, who finished the lyrics within a day.
Bricusse published his memoir, Pure Imagination: A Sorta-Biography, in 2015. That year the revue Pure Imagination: The Musical World of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse premiered in Venice, California. Bricusse died on October 19, 2021 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France; he was 90 years old.
Albums
