Celebrity Biographies
monty norman
He wrote one of the most recognizable theme songs in cinema, with which all James Bond films begin. Composer Monty Norman passed away on July 11, 2022, at the age of 94. “After a short illness”, clarifies a brief note published on the musician’s official website.
Born on April 4, 1928 in London, Monty Noserovitch –real name of Monty Norman– began his journey in show business in the 1950s and 1960s as a singer for bands such as Cyril Stapleton, Stanley Black, Ted Heath and Nat Temper. He also acted on stage, in variety shows in which he shared roles with comedians such as Peter Sellers and Benny Hill.
Monty Norman then went on to compose songs for singers such as Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele, Count Basie and Bob Hope, and lyrics for the musicals “Make Me an Offer”, the English version of “Sweet Irma” (based on a musical French from 1956 written by Alexandre Breffort and Marguerite Monnot), and “Expresso Bongo”. He debuted as a film composer with The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll , a horror film from the Hammer factory.
His second score created expressly for the screen was for Agent 007 vs. Dr. No, the first James Bond installment . The producers were not happy, however, and he was soon replaced by John Barry , who arranged the agent’s celebrated theme song. The latter even claimed that he had written it, but Monty Norman won defamation lawsuits, and collected the corresponding royalties.
For many years Monty Norman worked on his autobiography, “A Walking Stick Full of Bagels”, which however was never published. Divorced in 1980 from actress Diana Coupland, with whom he had a daughter, he was later married to Rina Caesari.