Ron Goodwin
| Ron Goodwin | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ronald Alfred Goodwin |
| Born |
17 February 1925 Plymouth, Devon, England |
| Died | 8 January 2003 (aged 77) Newbury, Berkshire, England |
| Genres | Film, classical, pop, orchestral music |
| Years active | 1948–2003 |
Ronald Alfred "Ron" Goodwin (17 February 1925 – 8 January 2003) was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included Where Eagles Dare, Battle of Britain, 633 Squadron and Operation Crossbow.
Born in Plymouth, Devon, Goodwin learned to play the piano and trumpet from the age of five which allowed him to join the school band. When he was nine, the family moved to Harrow, London, where he attended Willesden County School and Pinner County Grammar School, in Middlesex. From there he went on to study the trumpet in London at the Guildhall School of Music.
Whilst working as a copyist, he formed his own orchestra in his spare time and began arranging and conducting recordings for over fifty artists, which resulted in more than 100 chart successes. He wrote his first feature film score for Whirlpool, with screenplay by Lawrence P. Bachmann. After Bachmann became executive producer at MGM-British Studios in 1959, Goodwin composed and conducted the music for most of its productions, as well as working for other film studios.
In the 1980s Goodwin began concentrating on live orchestral performances and appeared as guest conductor with many symphony orchestras at home and abroad including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Goodwin was born in Plymouth to James Goodwin (died 1952), a policeman with the Metropolitan Police Force and Bessie Violet Goodwin née Godsland (died 1966). The family originally came from London, but had moved to Devon due to James being assigned to security work at the naval dockyard in Devon. Goodwin learned to play the piano by the age of five and returned to London four years later, where he attended Willesden county grammar school. Whilst there, he learnt to play the trumpet and performed regularly in the school band. Upon the outbreak of World War II, the family moved to Harrow, London, and Goodwin attended Pinner county grammar school. It was here that he formed his own band – Ron Goodwin and the Woodchoppers. He later studied the trumpet in London at the Guildhall School of Music.
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