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Lionel Bart was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman", which became the first British pop song to break into the American Top 40, and was the sole creator of the musical Oliver! (1960). With Oliver! and his work alongside theatre director Joan Littlewood at Theatre Royal, Stratford East, he played an instrumental role in the 1960s birth of the British musical theatre scene after an era when American musicals had dominated the West End. Best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!, he was described by Andrew Lloyd Webber as "the father of the modern British musical". In 1963 he won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Oliver!, and the 1968 film version of the musical won a total of 6 Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Some of his other compositions include the theme song to the James Bond film From Russia with Love, and the songs "Living Doll" by Cliff Richard, "Far Away" by Shirley Bassey, "Do You Mind?", "Big Time", "Easy Going Me" by Adam Faith, "Always You And Me" by Russ Conway, and several songs recorded by Tommy Steele. By the mid 1960s he was as well known for his outlandish lifestyle, his celebrity friends, his excesses, and his parties as he was for his work.
Birth Name
Lionel Begleiter
Born
Friday, 01 August 1930
Died
Saturday, 03 April 1999
Actor Filmography
Title | Character | Year |
---|
The Story of Musicals | Self | 2012 |
An Audience with Shirley Bassey | Self - Audience Member | 1995 |
The Alternative Miss World | Self - Judge | 1980 |
All You Need Is Love | Self | 1977 |
Arena | Himself (archive footage) | 1975 |
Celebrity Squares | Self | 1975 |
Come and Get your Money | Self | 1967 |
The Gisele MacKenzie Show | Self | 1957 |
This Is Your Life | Self | 1955 |
Actor Filmography
Title | Character | Year |
---|
The Story of Musicals | Self | 2012 |
An Audience with Shirley Bassey | Self - Audience Member | 1995 |
The Alternative Miss World | Self - Judge | 1980 |
All You Need Is Love | Self | 1977 |
Arena | Himself (archive footage) | 1975 |
Celebrity Squares | Self | 1975 |
Come and Get your Money | Self | 1967 |
The Gisele MacKenzie Show | Self | 1957 |
This Is Your Life | Self | 1955 |
Year | Type | Category | Won |
---|
1965 | Golden Globe | Best Song | Nominated |