Ron Goodwin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ron Goodwin
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Alfred Goodwin
Born	(1925-02-17)17 February 1925 Plymouth, Devon, England
Died	8 January 2003(2003-01-08) (aged 77) Brimpton Common, Berkshire, England
Genres	Classical, pop, orchestral music
Occupation(s)	Conductor
Years active	1948–2003

Ronald Alfred Goodwin (born February 17, 1925 – died January 8, 2003) was a famous English composer and conductor. He was best known for creating music for movies. Ron Goodwin wrote music for more than 70 films during his career, which lasted over 50 years! Some of his most famous movie scores include Where Eagles Dare, Battle of Britain, 633 Squadron, the Miss Marple movies starring Margaret Rutherford, and Frenzy.

Ron Goodwin was born in Plymouth, England. He started learning to play the piano and trumpet when he was only five years old. This helped him join his school band. When he was nine, his family moved to Harrow, London. He later studied the trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music in London.

While working as a music copyist, he started his own orchestra. He also arranged and conducted music for many singers, leading to over 100 hit songs. His first movie score was for Whirlpool in 1959. After this, he composed and conducted music for many films from MGM-British Studios and other companies. In his later years, Goodwin focused on live concerts. He performed as a guest conductor with many famous symphony orchestras around the world.

Ron Goodwin's Life and Music

Early Years and Musical Start

Ron Goodwin was born in Plymouth, England. His father, James Goodwin, was a policeman, and his mother, Bessie Violet Goodwin, worked with clothes. Ron started playing the piano when he was five. Four years later, his family moved to London. There, he learned to play the trumpet and performed in his school band.

When World War II began, his family moved to Harrow. It was here that Ron formed his very first band, called Ron Goodwin and the Woodchoppers. He later went on to study the trumpet more seriously at the Guildhall School of Music in London.

Starting His Career

In 1943, Ron Goodwin began working for a music publisher. His job was to copy and arrange music. He also worked for the BBC doing similar tasks. He got into movie music by working on documentary films, which he said was great training.

From 1949, Goodwin conducted music for the Polygon company. He arranged and conducted recordings for singers like Petula Clark and Jimmy Young. He even helped Jimmy Young get a number one hit song in 1951 called "Too Young." In the 1950s, he joined Parlophone Records and worked with George Martin, who later became famous for working with The Beatles. Ron Goodwin also worked with Peter Sellers on his Goodness Gracious Me album. He started making his own records and broadcasts with his group, the Ron Goodwin Concert Orchestra.

By 1953, Goodwin was arranging and conducting over 300 recordings for more than 50 different performers. This led to over 100 songs becoming hits! At the same time, he made his own recordings and started composing music for documentary films. In 1958, he wrote his first music for a full-length movie, Whirlpool. After this, he became very busy composing and conducting music for many movies.

Famous Movie Music

Ron Goodwin is most famous for his movie music. He worked on more than 70 film scores during his career. His first movie score was for Man with a Gun in 1958.

Miss Marple and War Films

He quickly became known for his music for the Miss Marple films starring Margaret Rutherford. These included Murder, She Said (1961), Murder at the Gallop (1963), Murder Most Foul (1963), and Murder Ahoy (1964).

Goodwin also wrote music for two horror films: Village of the Damned (1960) and its sequel Children of the Damned (1964). His music for war films is especially well-remembered. Some of these include 633 Squadron (1964), Operation Crossbow (1965), Where Eagles Dare (1968), and Battle of Britain (1969). The opening music from Battle of Britain, originally called Luftwaffe March, is now known as Aces High. Military bands in the UK often play it.

Other Well-Known Works

Goodwin also wrote music for Of Human Bondage (1964), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), and Alfred Hitchcock's thriller Frenzy (1972). He also composed for films starring the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, and the Norman Wisdom film, The Early Bird (1965).

His music for the 1966 film The Trap is now used as the theme music for the London Marathon on the BBC. A short version of his 1969 music for Monte Carlo or Bust is used as the intro for the BBC Radio Four game show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

In the 1970s, Ron Goodwin wrote music for several Disney films, like One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975). He also composed music and songs for animated films such as The Selfish Giant (1971), The Happy Prince (1974), and The Little Mermaid (1974). His last movie score was for the Danish animated film Valhalla in 1986. He also created the music used when Yorkshire Television started its broadcasts in 1968.

Goodwin even wrote music for TV commercials! He created the famous "I like Ricicles: they're twicicle as nicicles" jingle for the cereal and the "Mr Sheen shines umpteen things clean" song.

Later Career and Awards

By 1987, Ron Goodwin started to focus more on live orchestral performances. He created pieces like his "Drake 400 Suite" in 1980 and "Armada Suite" in 1988. His "New Zealand Suite" in 1983 began a long connection with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Goodwin was a guest conductor for many symphony orchestras both in his home country and abroad. These included the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Concert Orchestra. In 1996, he was a guest conductor at a special festival of British and American Film Music.

In 1972, Ron Goodwin recorded an album called Somebody Named Ron Goodwin Plays Somebody Named Burt Bacharach. This album, and another called "Going Places," sold millions of copies and earned him gold and platinum awards. He won three Ivor Novello Awards, which are very important music awards, including one for his lifetime achievements. He was also honored by the City of Leeds College of Music and the City of London.

Ron Goodwin was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best original score for the movie Frenzy in 1972.

Personal Life and Legacy

Ron Goodwin was married twice and had a son named Chris from his first marriage. People who knew him said he was a "musical perfectionist" who got along well with other artists. They also described him as a kind man with a great sense of humor. He loved working with young people and was very involved with youth orchestras and music schools.

In his memory, a road in Plymouth where he lived with his family was renamed Goodwin Crescent.

His Final Years

In December 2002, Ron Goodwin completed his 32nd year of Christmas concerts. He had suffered from asthma for many years, and it had gotten worse as he got older. On January 7, 2003, after finishing a series of Christmas concerts, he returned home. He sadly passed away in his sleep on January 8, 2003, at the age of 77. He is buried in St Paul's Churchyard in Ashford Hill.

Selected Movie Music