Noel Harrison
Encyclopedia
Noel Harrison is an English
Olympic athlete, actor
and singer. He is the son of British actor Sir Rex Harrison
.
at the 1952 Winter Olympics
in Oslo
, Norway
and at the 1956 Winter Olympics
in Cortina d'Ampezzo
, Italy
.
Harrison undertook National Service
and, after leaving the army
in the 1950s, toyed with the idea of becoming a journalist, but instead, concentrated on his guitar. His early break came when he took a regular part in the BBC Television
programme, Tonight
, as part of a team who sang the day's news in a calypso
style.
When he was aged 20, he started playing professionally, around the tables in a Greek restaurant in London. He also made a living playing in bars and nightclubs all over Europe, including appearances at the Blue Angel Club, where one show was recorded for a live album
.
in 1965, working as a nightclub entertainer at such venues as San Francisco's Hungry I, and at the Persian Room in New York
. Thanks to his managers Bob Chartoff and lrwin Winkler, who went on to produce the Rocky
films, Harrison had a record
reach the charts
. The track was "A Young Girl", written by Charles Aznavour
. In 1966-1967, Harrison appeared as Mark Slate in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
, as the co-star of Stefanie Powers
(April Dancer). As Mark Slate, Harrison also appeared once on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
in a third-season episode titled "The Galatea Affair".
"A Young Girl" was included as one of the tracks on his debut album, Noel Harrison, in 1966. Two years later, he recorded "The Windmills of Your Mind
", the theme tune
from the film
The Thomas Crown Affair
, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
in 1968, and was also a Top 10 hit
in the UK Singles Chart
. Despite the song winning the 1968 Oscar for best original song, Harrison did not sing it at the Oscar ceremony. Instead his place was taken by Jose Feliciano
. The change was made because Harrison was working on the film, Take A Girl Like You
in England, with Oliver Reed
and Hayley Mills
. Coincidentally, his father Rex Harrison, had sung the Oscar winning song ("Talk to the Animals
") only the previous year (1967).
The television series, plus the Top 40 record, landed Harrison a recording contract
with Reprise
, who released three of his albums, Collage, Santa Monica Pier and The Great Electric Experiment is Over. Collage reached #135 in the US Billboard 200
chart
. He also toured with the Beach Boys, and Sonny and Cher, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, featured on a music program, Hullabaloo and appeared on Johnny Carson
's Tonight Show.
In 1968, Harrison played the male lead in The Fantasticks
, in touring theatres in the round, including The Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, Massachusetts
.
in Canada, and built a house from scratch with no electricity, inspired by the fashionable pioneers Helen and Scott Nearing
and their self-help bible, Living The Good Life. The wood stove caught fire and the house burned down, causing Harrison to rebuild it with money earned from touring musicals in the US, and hosting a show called Take Time for Canada's CBC Television
.
and The Sound of Music
. He also played Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady
, the part made famous by his father Rex Harrison
, in the stage and film musical of the same name. Other touring roles included King Arthur in Camelot, Baron von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha
, Brian Runicles in No Sex Please, We're British
and Lloyd Dallas in Noises Off
.
An admirer of Jacques Brel
, Harrison later created a one-man musical, Adieu, Jacques, and in 2002 released an album of songs from the show.
. He still sings, putting on occasional gigs and finances his own albums including Hold Back Time. A compilation album
of his work for Reprise called Life is a Dream was released in 2003, and his debut album, Noel Harrison, was re-released in 2008. In 2010, he recorded a new album, From the Sublime to the Ridiculous!. The record was made as part of the internet event, the RPM Challenge, which challenged musicians to record a new album from scratch during the month of February.
In June 2011, Harrison played the Glastonbury Festival's "Spirit of '71" stage, marking 40 years since his appearance at the second staging of the then new festival. Television footage was recorded, including a solo backstage acoustic version of "The Windmills of Your Mind" for the BBC.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
Olympic athlete, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and singer. He is the son of British actor Sir Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
.
Early life
As a teenager he joined the Ipswich repertory theatre group and taught himself guitar, but his main interest was sport and most of his spare time was spent skiing in Switzerland. At an early age he was a member of the British ski team, becoming its first giant-slalom champion in 1953, and representing Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
at the 1952 Winter Olympics
1952 Winter Olympics
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games, took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February 1952. Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city wanted to host the 1948 Games, but World War II made that impossible...
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and at the 1956 Winter Olympics
1956 Winter Olympics
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out...
in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Harrison undertook National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
and, after leaving the army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the 1950s, toyed with the idea of becoming a journalist, but instead, concentrated on his guitar. His early break came when he took a regular part in the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
programme, Tonight
Tonight (1957 TV series)
Tonight was a BBC television current affairs programme presented by Cliff Michelmore and broadcast in Britain live on weekday evenings from February 1957 to 1965. The producers were the future Controller of BBC1 Donald Baverstock and the future Director-General of the BBC Alasdair Milne...
, as part of a team who sang the day's news in a calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
style.
When he was aged 20, he started playing professionally, around the tables in a Greek restaurant in London. He also made a living playing in bars and nightclubs all over Europe, including appearances at the Blue Angel Club, where one show was recorded for a live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
.
Move to United States
He left for the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1965, working as a nightclub entertainer at such venues as San Francisco's Hungry I, and at the Persian Room in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Thanks to his managers Bob Chartoff and lrwin Winkler, who went on to produce the Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
films, Harrison had a record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
reach the charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. The track was "A Young Girl", written by Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
. In 1966-1967, Harrison appeared as Mark Slate in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy-fi TV series that aired on NBC for one season from September 16, 1966 to April 11, 1967. The series was a spin-off from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and used the same theme music composed by Jerry Goldsmith, which was rearranged into a slightly different,...
, as the co-star of Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
(April Dancer). As Mark Slate, Harrison also appeared once on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
in a third-season episode titled "The Galatea Affair".
"A Young Girl" was included as one of the tracks on his debut album, Noel Harrison, in 1966. Two years later, he recorded "The Windmills of Your Mind
The Windmills of Your Mind
"The Windmills of Your Mind" is a song performed by Noel Harrison, with music composed by Michel Legrand and English lyrics written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, which was used as the theme for the 1968 film, The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen alongside and ultimately versus...
", the theme tune
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
from the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)
The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1968 film by Norman Jewison starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Song with Michel Legrand's "Windmills of Your Mind"...
, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
in 1968, and was also a Top 10 hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Despite the song winning the 1968 Oscar for best original song, Harrison did not sing it at the Oscar ceremony. Instead his place was taken by Jose Feliciano
José Feliciano
José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...
. The change was made because Harrison was working on the film, Take A Girl Like You
Take a Girl Like You (film)
Take a Girl Like You is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Miller and starring Hayley Mills, Oliver Reed, Sheila Hancock, Ronald Lacey, John Bird, Noel Harrison, Aimi MacDonald and Penelope Keith. It was based on the 1960 novel Take a Girl Like You by Kingsley Amis, and was adapted by...
in England, with Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
and Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
. Coincidentally, his father Rex Harrison, had sung the Oscar winning song ("Talk to the Animals
Talk to the Animals
"Talk to the Animals" is a song written by British composer, Leslie Bricusse.Written for the film, Doctor Dolittle, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards. It was performed in the film by Rex Harrison...
") only the previous year (1967).
The television series, plus the Top 40 record, landed Harrison a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Reprise
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
, who released three of his albums, Collage, Santa Monica Pier and The Great Electric Experiment is Over. Collage reached #135 in the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. He also toured with the Beach Boys, and Sonny and Cher, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, featured on a music program, Hullabaloo and appeared on Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
's Tonight Show.
In 1968, Harrison played the male lead in The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
, in touring theatres in the round, including The Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, Massachusetts
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Also it is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area as a result of the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape"...
.
Move to Canada
In 1972, Harrison left the US for Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
in Canada, and built a house from scratch with no electricity, inspired by the fashionable pioneers Helen and Scott Nearing
Helen and Scott Nearing
Helen Knothe Nearing and Scott Nearing were well-known American back-to-the-landers who wrote extensively about their experience living what they termed "the good life".- Philosophy :...
and their self-help bible, Living The Good Life. The wood stove caught fire and the house burned down, causing Harrison to rebuild it with money earned from touring musicals in the US, and hosting a show called Take Time for Canada's CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
.
Touring shows
During the 1970s, Harrison toured the US in productions of CamelotCamelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
and 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...
. He also played Henry Higgins in 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...
, the part made famous by his father Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
, in the stage and film musical of the same name. Other touring roles included King Arthur in Camelot, Baron von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
, Brian Runicles in No Sex Please, We're British
No Sex Please, We're British
No Sex Please, We're British is a British comedic play written by Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott, first staged in London's West End in 1971. It was unanimously panned by critics, but still ran for nearly a decade to packed audiences...
and Lloyd Dallas in Noises Off
Noises Off
Noises Off is a 1982 play by English playwright Michael Frayn. The idea for it was born in 1970, when Frayn was standing in the wings watching a performance of Chinamen, a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave...
.
An admirer of Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
, Harrison later created a one-man musical, Adieu, Jacques, and in 2002 released an album of songs from the show.
Return to Britain
In the late 1990s, Harrison returned to Britain, moving to DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. He still sings, putting on occasional gigs and finances his own albums including Hold Back Time. A compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of his work for Reprise called Life is a Dream was released in 2003, and his debut album, Noel Harrison, was re-released in 2008. In 2010, he recorded a new album, From the Sublime to the Ridiculous!. The record was made as part of the internet event, the RPM Challenge, which challenged musicians to record a new album from scratch during the month of February.
In June 2011, Harrison played the Glastonbury Festival's "Spirit of '71" stage, marking 40 years since his appearance at the second staging of the then new festival. Television footage was recorded, including a solo backstage acoustic version of "The Windmills of Your Mind" for the BBC.
Albums
- Noel Harrison at the Blue Angel (1960)
- Noel Harrison at Unika (1960)
- Noel Harrison (1966)
- Collage (1967)
- Santa Monica Pier (1968)
- The Great Electric Experiment is Over (1969)
- The World of Noel Harrison (1969 - compilation)
- Mount Hanley Song (1979)
- Live From Boulevard Music (2002 - live albumLive albumA live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
recorded in the US) - Adieu, Jacques (2002 - music from the show, sung in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) - Hold Back Time (2003)
- Life is a Dream (2004 - compilation)
- From the Sublime to the Ridiculous (2010)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
CAN Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|||||||
| 1965 | "A Young Girl (Of Sixteen)" | — | 5 | 51 | Noel Harrison | ||||
| 1967 | "Suzanne" | — | — | 56 | Non-album song | ||||
| 1969 | "The Windmills of Your Mind The Windmills of Your Mind "The Windmills of Your Mind" is a song performed by Noel Harrison, with music composed by Michel Legrand and English lyrics written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, which was used as the theme for the 1968 film, The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen alongside and ultimately versus... " |
8 | — | — | The Thomas Crown Affair (soundtrack) | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||