Bond theme composer dies - John Barry, winner of five Oscars and the man behind much of the James Bond movie music, died of a heart attack in New York

Bond theme composer dies


John Barry, winner of five Oscars and the man behind much of the James Bond movie music, died of a heart attack in New York, according to The Sun.

He was 77 when he passed on on Feb 1.

His dramatic themes for 12 Bond films - including Goldfinger starring Shirely Eaton - were as much a part of the secret agent's on-screen armoury as 007's Walther PPK.

But Barry didn't just write the soundtrack. He lived the part.

In the Swinging Sixties he was the archetypal playboy, clocking up female conquests almost as fast as he did musical scores.

He arrived in Soho from Yorkshire in 1958 and quickly established himself as the genius behind the popular new Bond franchise.

Five years later he left his first wife Barbara Pickard and daughter Susie for Swedish au-pair Ulla Larsson who, after giving him second daughter Sian, returned to her homeland.

While Barry's Bond themes were often accompanied on screen by writhing naked women, his social life was hardly less racy.

Michael Caine, who he met making Zulu in 1963, shared his flat in London's Knightsbridge, and dubbed him "a big ladies' man".

He won his first two Oscars for Born Free (1966) and added a third for The Lion In Winter (1968).

Source: The Sun

Published Feb 2 2011

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