One of the British legends of music for film, John Barry, best known for writing the soundtrack to many James Bond, died of a heart attack at age 77, his family said Monday.
Born in 1933 in York, England, musician, came from jazz, died Sunday in New York, his family said. He composed music for eleven films of the agent OO7, including “Goldfinger” and “You Only Live Twice”. He also revamped music composed by Monty Norman, into the main theme of the legendary series, which became one of the most famous in the world. He is also the author of the music for “Out of Africa” and “Dances with Wolves” and the credit for the music of the famous series “The Persuaders!” in the 70s, which also contributed to his fame.
He won five Oscars and was nominated for two others, but never for his work on James Bond. “I think James Bond would have been much less iconic if John Barry had not held its hand,”the BBC’s David Arnold said, who took over as composer of film music for the Bond series. “The music he has written transcend the movies for which they were composed and are now part of popular culture ‘, the news found David Arnold, paying tribute to the” extraordinary melodies “of his predecessor.
Married four times, John Barry had in 1965 married the actress Jane Birkin, with whom he had a child, Kate, now a photographer.