Lionel Bart
About
Biography
Filmography
Notes
"Lionel was the father of the modern British musical." --Andrew Lloyd Webber on Bart's death, quoted in DAILY VARIETY, April 6, 1999
Biography
Lionel Bart brought his musical talents to a variety of films over the course of his Hollywood career. In 1956, he co-wrote the hit song "Rock with the Caveman," performed by Tommy Steele. In 1959, he was the lyricist for the hit "Lock Up Your Daughters." He wrote songs for Cliff Richard and Tommy Steele. In 1964, he had a modest London success with "Maggie May." Bart began his entertainment career with his music featured in films like the crime feature "Never Let Go" (1960) with Richard Todd. He followed this honor with songs in "Oliver!" (1968) with Ron Moody. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "From Russia With Love" in 1964. . In the sixties and the seventies, Bart's music continued to appear on the silver screen, including in films like the dramatic adaptation "Black Beauty" (1971) with Mark Lester and the Peter Sellers drama "The Optimists" (1973). Bart was most recently credited in the Ray Romano box office smash animated sequel "Ice Age: The Meltdown" (2006). In the eighties through the early 2000s, Bart lent his talents to projects like "The Alternative Miss World" (1980), "Evening at Pops (07/18/87)" (PBS, 1986-87) and "Brian Epstein" (1999-2000). His credits also expanded to "Confetti" with Martin Freeman (2006). Bart passed away in April 1999 at the age of 69.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Music (Special)
Life Events
1956
Co-wrote the hit song "Rock with the Caveman," performed by Tommy Steele
1959
Debut as composer and lyricist with the revue "Fings Ain't Wot They Used t' Be"
1959
Was the lyricist for the hit "Lock Up Your Daughters"
1960
Breakthrough stage success, "Oliver!", a musical based on Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist"
1963
Broadway debut with American production of "Oliver!"; won Tony Awards as Best Musical and for Best Score
1963
Penned the title song for the James Bond film "From Russia With Love"
1964
Had a modest London success with "Maggie May"
1964
Scored the feature "The Man in the Middle"
1965
Suffered the biggest failure of his career with the stage show "Twang!," based on the Robin Hood story
1968
Carol Reed's film version of "Oliver!" proved a popular success; nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning five including Best Musical and Best Director
1969
Experienced a stage setback with the ill-fated musical "La Strada," based on Fellini's classic film
1971
Wrote the music for the film adaptation of "Black Beauty"
1972
Declared bankruptcy
1975
Arrested for drunken driving; banned from operating an automobile
1980
Appeared as himself as a judge at a beauty contest in "The Alternative Miss World"
Videos
Movie Clip
Bibliography
Notes
"Lionel was the father of the modern British musical." --Andrew Lloyd Webber on Bart's death, quoted in DAILY VARIETY, April 6, 1999
