Product Code Database
Stanley Myers (6 October 19309 November 1993) was an English composer and conductor, who scored over sixty films and television series, working closely with filmmakers Nicolas Roeg, Jerzy Skolimowski and Volker Schlöndorff. 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. 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.
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.
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 Kaleidoscope THE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM (Amazon) - Back cover notes by Stanley Myers Cash Box, 22 October 1966 - Page 38 ALBUM REVIEWS, POP BEST BETS
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.
The Pink Floyd website credits the brass section parts on their 1968 song "Corporal Clegg" to "The Stanley Myers Orchestra".
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. 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.
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. He also scored the film Wish You Were Here and several low budget features ( Time Traveller, Blind Date, The Wind, Zero Boys) for director Nico Mastorakis, collaborating with Hans Zimmer. He won another Ivor Novello Award for his soundtrack to The Witches in 1991.
Myers died of cancer aged 63 in Kensington and Chelsea, London.
Filmography
Film
1960s
Kaleidoscope Jack Smight 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 Man on Horseback Volker Schlöndorff Composed with Peter Sandloff Two Gentlemen Sharing Ted Kotcheff Age of Consent Michael Powell Composed with Peter Sculthorpe
1970s
Tropic of Cancer Joseph Strick The Walking Stick Eric Till Underground Arthur H. Nadel Take a Girl Like You Jonathan Miller Tam-Lin Roddy McDowall A Severed Head Dick Clement 1971 The Raging Moon Bryan Forbes 1972 X Y & Zee Brian G. Hutton King, Queen, Knave Jerzy Skolimowski Sitting Target Douglas Hickox A Free Woman Volker Schlöndorff 1973 The Love Ban Ralph Thomas The Blockhouse Clive Rees Road Movie Joseph Strick 1974 House of Whipcord Pete Walker Frightmare Little Malcolm Stuart Cooper Caravan to Vaccarès Geoffrey Reeve The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz Ted Kotcheff Composed with Andrew Powell 1975 The Wilby Conspiracy Ralph Nelson Conduct Unbecoming Michael Anderson 1976 Schizo Pete Walker House of Mortal Sin Coup de Grâce Volker Schlöndorff 1977 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Joseph Strick 1978 The Greek Tycoon J. Lee Thompson The Comeback Pete Walker The Class of Miss MacMichael Silvio Narizzano The Deer Hunter Michael Cimino Absolution Anthony Page 1979 The Great Riviera Bank Robbery Francis Megahy Yesterday's Hero Neil Leifer A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square Ralph Thomas
1980s
1980 Border Cop Christopher Leitch The Watcher in the Woods John Hough 1981 Lady Chatterley's Lover Just Jaeckin Composed with Richard Harvey 1982 The Incubus John Hough Moonlighting Jerzy Skolimowski 1983 Eureka Nicolas Roeg The Honorary Consul John Mackenzie 1984 Success Is the Best Revenge Jerzy Skolimowski Composed with Hans Zimmer Story of O - Chapter 2 Éric Rochat Blind Date Nico Mastorakis The Next One The Chain Jack Gold 1985 The Lightship Jerzy Skolimowski Insignificance Nicolas Roeg Composed with Hans Zimmer My Beautiful Laundrette Stephen Frears Dreamchild Gavin Millar 1986 Castaway Nicolas Roeg The Zero Boys Nico Mastorakis Composed with Hans Zimmer Separate Vacations Michael Anderson The Wind Nico Mastorakis 1987 The Second Victory Gerald Thomas Nightmare at Noon Nico Mastorakis Composed with Hans Zimmer Wish You Were Here David Leland Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Film Music Prick Up Your Ears Stephen Frears The Nature of the Beast Franco Rosso Composed with Hans Zimmer Sammy and Rosie Get Laid Stephen Frears 1988 Stars and Bars Pat O'Connor Track 29 Nicolas Roeg Taffin Francis Megahy Composed with Hans Zimmer Paperhouse Bernard Rose The Boost Harold Becker 1989 Torrents of Spring Jerzy Skolimowski Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills Paul Bartel
1990s
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
1961 ITV Television Playhouse Episode: "A Resounding Tinkle" 1964 Doctor Who 6 episodes
"The Reign of Terror" serialDiary 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 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
External links
Categories: 1933 Births, 1993 Deaths, 20th-century English Classical Musicians, 20th-century English Composers, 20th-century English Male Musicians, Deaths From Cancer In England, English Film Score Composers, English Male Film Score Composers, English Male Television Composers, English Television Composers, Musicians From Birmingham, West Midlands, People Educated At King Edward's School, Birmingham, Varèse Sarabande Records Artists
|
|
