Cyril Ornadel
Encyclopedia
Cyril Ornadel was a British
conductor, songwriter
and composer
chiefly in musical theatre
.
Cyril Ornadel was born in London
. He studied at the Royal College of Music
. During the 1950s he was famous for conducting the orchestra for the hit TV show The Sunday Night At The Palladium. This followed as a musical director for a number of major West End
shows, including the first London production of My Fair Lady
and at the London Palladium the hit shows The Sound of Music
and The King and I
starring Yul Brynner
. He composed several musicals of his own, including Pickwick
(1963) (lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
), starring Harry Secombe
, out of which came the hit song "If I Ruled The World", which won an Ivor Novello Award
sung most famously by Tony Bennett
; Great Expectations (1975) starring John Mills
, both adapted from Charles Dickens
; and Treasure Island (1973) adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson
and starring Bernard Miles
and Spike Milligan
. Great Expectations and Treasure Island (both with lyrics by Hal Shaper) were designated Best British Musical at the Ivor Novello Awards. He also penned the song Portrait of My Love (lyrics by Norman Newell
), a hit for Matt Monro
in 1960, which also won an Ivor Novello Award. At My Time of Life from Great Expectations was recorded by Bing Crosby
in 1976.
Cyril Ornadel's contribution to music for television includes scores for Edward the Seventh (1975), which won a BAFTA, starring Timothy West
as Edward VII; and the music for the British television science-fiction series Sapphire & Steel
(1979). He also conducted music with the London Symphony Orchestra
for The Strauss Family
, by the eponymous composers and was presented with a Gold Disc for sales. Dancing Years was arranged and conducted by Cyril Ornadel.
He worked regularly with David Croft, the TV writer, director and producer as well as Norman Newell
and Hal Shaper. He was awarded the prestigious Gold Badge of Merit by the British Academy of Songwriters and Authors for services to British Music and won a total of four Ivor Novello Awards.
Cyril Ornadel's autobiography "Reach for the Moon" was published by The Book Guild in 2007. He died in June 2011, aged 86.
Cyril had two sons and a daughter, Dan, Sharon and Guy. Dan is a consultant in respiratory medicine working at Northwick Park Hospital, Sharon teaches English for the English Council and Guy is the managing director of Mainstage Artists and Ornadel Management.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
conductor, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
chiefly in musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
Cyril Ornadel was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He studied at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
. During the 1950s he was famous for conducting the orchestra for the hit TV show The Sunday Night At The Palladium. This followed as a musical director for a number of major West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
shows, including the first London production of My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
and at the London Palladium the hit shows The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
and The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
starring Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
. He composed several musicals of his own, including Pickwick
Pickwick (musical)
Pickwick is a musical with a book by Wolf Mankowitz, music by Cyril Ornadel, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Based on The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, it is set in and around London and Rochester in 1828....
(1963) (lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
), starring Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
, out of which came the hit song "If I Ruled The World", which won an Ivor Novello Award
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
sung most famously by Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
; Great Expectations (1975) starring John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
, both adapted from Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
; and Treasure Island (1973) adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
and starring Bernard Miles
Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
and Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
. Great Expectations and Treasure Island (both with lyrics by Hal Shaper) were designated Best British Musical at the Ivor Novello Awards. He also penned the song Portrait of My Love (lyrics by Norman Newell
Norman Newell
Norman Newell, OBE was born in Plaistow, Essex , and was a successful British record producer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as co-writer of many notable songs...
), a hit for Matt Monro
Matt Monro
Matt Monro was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s...
in 1960, which also won an Ivor Novello Award. At My Time of Life from Great Expectations was recorded by Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
in 1976.
Cyril Ornadel's contribution to music for television includes scores for Edward the Seventh (1975), which won a BAFTA, starring Timothy West
Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
as Edward VII; and the music for the British television science-fiction series Sapphire & Steel
Sapphire & Steel
Sapphire & Steel is a British television science-fiction fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. Hammond who conceived the programme under the working title The...
(1979). He also conducted music with the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
for The Strauss Family
The Strauss Family
The Strauss Family is a 1972 Associated Television series, made in England, of eight episodes, about the family of composers of that name, including Johann Strauss I and his sons Johann Strauss II, Eduard Strauss and Josef Strauss....
, by the eponymous composers and was presented with a Gold Disc for sales. Dancing Years was arranged and conducted by Cyril Ornadel.
He worked regularly with David Croft, the TV writer, director and producer as well as Norman Newell
Norman Newell
Norman Newell, OBE was born in Plaistow, Essex , and was a successful British record producer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as co-writer of many notable songs...
and Hal Shaper. He was awarded the prestigious Gold Badge of Merit by the British Academy of Songwriters and Authors for services to British Music and won a total of four Ivor Novello Awards.
Cyril Ornadel's autobiography "Reach for the Moon" was published by The Book Guild in 2007. He died in June 2011, aged 86.
Cyril had two sons and a daughter, Dan, Sharon and Guy. Dan is a consultant in respiratory medicine working at Northwick Park Hospital, Sharon teaches English for the English Council and Guy is the managing director of Mainstage Artists and Ornadel Management.
External links
- http://www.davidcroft.co.uk/Croft-Ornadel/
- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/cyril-ornadel-conductor-and-composer-best-known-for-sunday-night-at-the-london-palladium-2301301.html
- Obituary of Cyril Ornadel, The Daily Telegraph, 17 August, 2011