BRITAIN: Film composer Ron Goodwin, responsible for classic scores including Where Eagles Dare and 633 Squadron, has died. He was 77. Goodwin died at his home in Brimpton Common, near Reading in Berkshire, last night.
He was best known for composing the themes to a string of 1960s war films, among them Battle of Britain and Operation Crossbow, but they formed only a handful of the 60 scores he composed in a career which spanned five decades.
His first film was Whirlpool in 1958 and he went on to write the music for such popular films as Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, Monte Carlo Or Bust, Force 10 From Navarone and Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy.
Goodwin, born in Plymouth, worked with stars such as Jimmy Young and Petula Clark early in their recording careers and was musical director for the Peter Sellers albums.
As Ron Goodwin and his Concert Orchestra, he was signed by Beatles producer George Martin and in 1975 received a gold disc to mark one million album sales.
In 1994 he was presented with an Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement in Music.
For the past 30 years, Goodwin toured the world as a conductor performing a mixture of classic works and popular hits. Last month he presented his annual series of Christmas shows with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
He is survived by his second wife, Heather, and son, Christopher.