Leslie Bricusse

Leslie Bricusse

Biography

Leslie Bricusse (b. 29 January 1931, London - 19 October 2021, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France) was an English composer, lyricist, and playwright, most prominently working in musicals and also film theme songs.

Bricusse was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Bricusse enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Anthony Newley. They wrote the musical Stop the World - I Want to Get Off (1961) which was successful in London and on Broadway, and was made into a (poorly received) film version in 1966. Also in collaboration with Newley, Bricusse wrote The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd (1965) and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), based on the children's book by Roald Dahl, and for which they received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song Score.

Working solely as a lyricist, Bricusse collaborated with composer Cyril Ornadel on Pickwick (1963), based on Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers, a successful vehicle for Harry Secombe. Later collaborators included Henry Mancini (Victor Victoria in 1982) and John Williams (Hook in 1991). As composer and lyricist he scored the successful film Doctor Dolittle (1967), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Original Song (Talk to the Animals), and the less-successful Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969).

Works for Winds

• Bricusse and Newley on Broadway (arr. Barker)
• The Candy Man (arr. Edmondson) (1972)
• Dr. Doolittle, Selections (arr. Scheffer)
• Good Old Bad Old Days, The (arr. Siebert) (1972)
• Highlight from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (arr. Longfield) (1971)
• New Life Band, A
• Pure Imagination (arr. Wagner) (1971/2013)
• Time is My Friend (arr. Kinyon) (1972)

Resources

• Genzlinger, Neil. "Leslie Bricusse, Prolific Songwriter for Stage and Screen, Dies at 90." New York Times, 20 October 2021.
• Leslie Bricusse, Wikipedia Accessed 30 October 2016