Leslie Bricusse, ‘Willy Wonka,’ ‘Goldfinger’ Songwriter, Dies at 90
He was not on the list.
Leslie Bricusse, Oscar- and Grammy-winning songwriter whose songs for Broadway and Hollywood include “What Kind of Fool Am I?” and “Pure Imagination,” died Tuesday in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. He was 90.
Bricusse wrote the lyrics for James Bond theme songs “Goldfinger” and “You Only Live Twice,” as well as songs for movies including “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (including “The Candy Man”), “Scrooge,” “Hook,” “Doctor Dolittle” and “Superman.”
His close friend, Dame Joan Collins, announced the death on Instagram this morning, calling him “one of the giant songwriters of our time.” Bricusse’s son Adam also announced it on Facebook; neither indicated a cause of death.
Over seven decades, the London-born writer-composer was in demand for his clever, witty and tuneful songs, sometimes in collaboration with others (notably Anthony Newley in London, Henry Mancini and John Williams in Los Angeles) and sometimes serving as both lyricist and composer.
“The music illuminates the meaning of the lyric, just as the lyric can have only that melody and no other,” Bricusse wrote in his autobiography. “They are the two reflecting halves of the same thing, and like the fine finished product of any art or craft, the two pieces must be seamlessly joined.” Mancini once called him “the consummate Brit [with] an encyclopedic memory for things theater,” adding, “sometimes I just like to sit back and watch his mind work.”
Bricusse won the 1967 best song Oscar for “Talk to the Animals,” from the Fox musical “Doctor Dolittle,” and the 1982 song-score Oscar for the musical “Victor / Victoria,” written with Mancini. His Grammy was for song of the year in 1963, “What Kind of Fool Am I,” written with Newley for the West End musical “Stop the World – I Want to Get Off.”
The Bricusse-Newley song score for “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” was Oscar-nominated in 1971, but curiously not for its best-known tunes: the Gene Wilder-sung “Pure Imagination,” now among the most familiar and beloved songs of its time, and “The Candy Man,” from the same score, a hit for Sammy Davis Jr.
Yet both his song “Thank You Very Much,” and the musical it was written for, “Scrooge,” based on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” starring Albert Finney, were Oscar-nominated and are more popular now than when they debuted in 1970. “Dolittle,” “Scrooge” and “Victor / Victoria” were all later adapted for the legit stage.
Bricusse regularly moved back and forth from stage to screen. In addition to “Stop the World,” which opened in London in 1961 and on Broadway in 1962 (with Newley starring in both), he wrote “The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd,” also with Newley, a U.K. production that enjoyed bigger success on Broadway in 1965. “Who Can I Turn To,” from that show, was a hit for Tony Bennett; “A Wonderful Day Like Today” is now a standard and “Feeling Good” was recorded by numerous artists including Nina Simone.
With Cyril Ornadel, he also wrote “Pickwick” for the West End in 1963; on his own, “Sherlock Holmes: The Musical,” with Ron Moody as Conan Doyle’s famed detective, in 1988; and with Frank Wildhorn, he penned both book and lyrics for “Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical,” which reached Broadway in 1990, and “Cyrano,” which debuted in Japan in 2009. “Sammy,” about the life and times of Sammy Davis Jr., has been workshopped on and off since 2007.
He was a five-time Tony nominee for “Stop the World” (musical, book, score), “Roar of the Greasepaint” (score) and “Jekyll & Hyde” (book). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989.
For the big screen, he wrote the Oscar-nominated musical “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” with Peter O’Toole, in 1969; and, with Mancini, the songs for “Santa Claus” in 1985. He and Newley also wrote a “Peter Pan” musical for TV in 1976.
There were 10 Oscar nominations in all, five for best song and five others for best song score. His second Academy Award winner, “Victor / Victoria,” was written for Blake Edwards’ film with Julie Andrews and Robert Preston, and its songs “Crazy World” and “Le Jazz Hot” (both penned with Mancini) were not only favorites, they became key moments in the 1995 Broadway musical version, also starring Andrews and directed by Edwards.
Bricusse loved collaborating with composers who favored melody. With John Barry, he wrote lyrics for the James Bond thrillers “Goldfinger” and “You Only Live Twice.” With Mancini, he added the words for “Two for the Road” and the Oscar-nominated “Life in a Looking Glass” for “That’s Life.” For Jerry Goldsmith, he wrote lyrics for songs from “The Sand Pebbles” and “In Like Flint.” And for John Williams, he penned the words for “Can You Read My Mind” from “Superman,” “Somewhere in My Memory” from “Home Alone” and “When You’re Alone” from “Hook,” the latter two Oscar-nominated as best song.
Born in January 1931 and educated at Cambridge, he was president of its Footlight Revue Club and founded the Musical Comedy Club; there he also co-wrote, directed and performed in his first two musicals, “Out of the Blue” and “Lady at the Wheel,” both of which made their way to the West End in the 1950s. He performed with Beatrice Lillie at the Globe Theatre and wrote his first film, “Charley Moon,” in 1956.
Bricusse, who had homes in Beverly Hills, London and France, is survived, in addition to his son, by his wife Evie. There was no immediate word about a memorial service.
Works
Musicals
Stop the World – I Want to Get Off (with Anthony Newley) (1961) – includes "Once in a Lifetime" and "What Kind of Fool Am I?"
Pickwick – with Cyril Ornadel (1963)
The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (with Newley) (1965) – includes "Who Can I Turn to (When Nobody Needs Me)?" and "Feeling Good"
Doctor Dolittle (1967) – includes "Talk to the Animals"
Sweet November (with Newley)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
Scrooge (with Ian Fraser; Herbert W. Spencer, 1970) – includes "Thank You Very Much"
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (with Newley, 1971)
Beyond the Rainbow (lyrics only, 1978)[15]
The Good Old Bad Old Days (with Newley, 1974)
Peter Pan (television, with Newley, 1976)
Victor Victoria (film with Henry Mancini, 1982)
Babes in Toyland (1986 film) (with Newley, 1986)
Sherlock Holmes: The Musical – book, music, and lyrics by Bricusse (1989)
Hook (with John Williams) (1991) – includes "When You're Alone"
Jekyll & Hyde (lyrics only, 1990/1994/1997)
Scrooge (1992 stage musical)
Victor/Victoria (1995 Broadway musical)
Doctor Dolittle (1998 stage musical)
Cyrano (2009, Tokyo, with Frank Wildhorn)
Sammy (2009) – Old Globe Theatre
Songs
"Out of Town" with Robin Beaumont (1956)
"My Kind of Girl" (1961)
"What Kind of Fool Am I?" with Anthony Newley (1963)
"Who Can I Turn To" with Anthony Newley (1964)
"Feeling Good" with Anthony Newley (1964)
"Goldfinger" (with John Barry and Anthony Newley) from Goldfinger (1964)
"A Guide for the Married Man" (with John Williams) from the film A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
"You Only Live Twice" (with Barry) from You Only Live Twice (1967)
"Two for the Road" (with Henry Mancini) from Two for the Road (1967)
"Talk to the Animals" from Doctor Dolittle (1967)
"Your Zowie Face" for film In Like Flint, music by Jerry Goldsmith (1967)
"Fill The World With Love" from Goodbye Mr. Chips (1968) originally sung by Petula Clark and also popularised by Richard Harris
"You and I" from Goodbye Mr. Chips (1968) sung by Petula Clark, Barbara Cook, and Michael Feinstein
"Thank You Very Much" from Scrooge (1970)
"Candy Man" and "Pure Imagination" (with Newley) from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
"Can You Read My Mind (Love Theme)" (with John Williams) from Superman (1978)
"Move Em Out" (with Henry Mancini) from Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
"Le Jazz Hot!" with Henry Mancini from Victor/Victoria (1982)
"Making Toys", "Every Christmas Eve/Santa's Theme (Giving)", "It's Christmas Again", "Patch! Natch!" and "Thank You, Santa!" (with Henry Mancini) from Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
"Life in a Looking Glass" (with Henry Mancini) from That's Life! (1986)
"Somewhere in My Memory" from Home Alone (with John Williams) (1990)
"When You're Alone", "We Don't Wanna Grow Up" from Hook (with John Williams) (1991)
"Christmas at Hogwarts" (with John Williams) in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
"The Perfect Song" (with Andrew Lloyd Webber) for Michael Ball.
Awards
Academy Award
Best Original Song, 1968 – "Talk to the Animals"
Best Adaptation and Original Song Score, 1982 - Victor/Victoria
Grammy Award
Song of the Year, 1963 – "What Kind of Fool Am I"
Songwriters Hall of Fame
Nominations
Tony Award
Best Musical, 1963 – Stop the World – I Want to Get Off
Tony Award for Best Score, 1963 – "Stop the World – I Want to Get Off"
Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, 1963 – "Stop the World – I Want to Get Off"
Tony Award for Best Score of a Musical, 1965 – "The Roar of Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd"
Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, 1997 – "Jekyll & Hyde"
Academy Awards[20]
Original Music Score, 1967 – Doctor Dolittle
Original Music Score, 1969 – Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Original Song Score, 1970 – Scrooge
Best Original Song, 1970 – "Thank You Very Much"
Best Adaptation and Original Song Score, 1971 – Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Best Original Song, 1986 – "Life in a Looking Glass"
Best Original Song, 1990 – "Somewhere in My Memory"
Best Original Song, 1991 – "When You're Alone"
Golden Raspberry Award
Worst 'Original' Song, 1986 – "Life in a Looking Glass" (lyrics)
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