Category Archives: Music

Stephen Sondheim was grateful for London’s ‘fresh eye’

Posted on March 22, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett It wasn’t only Broadway that Stephen Sondheim loved. In London in 2011 to mark his 80th birthday, the Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist who was born on this day in 1930, accepted a Special Laurence Olivier Award … Continue reading →

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Stuart Margolin and James Garner: ‘a perfect friendship’

Posted on January 31, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett Stuart Margolin, born on this day in 1940, was one of the great screen sidekicks working regularly with James Garner. Traditionally, in film and on TV, there have been two kinds of heroes – loners and those … Continue reading →

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Elvis: The man who fell to earth and changed the world

Posted on January 8, 2025 by admin

By Ray Bennett Little more than 10 years after the end of World War II, Great Britain was a cold, grey place in 1956 when Elvis Presley, who was born 90 years ago today, dropped from the sky. He changed … Continue reading →

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When I mixed up Frankie Avalon with another former teen idol

Posted on September 18, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett ‘It wasn’t exactly Elvis in Las Vegas’. That was the lede in our story after my colleague Ron Base and I interviewed Frankie Avalon, who turns 84 today,  when he performed in cabaret at a seedy nightclub … Continue reading →

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That time when Lauren Bacall gave me a smacker

Posted on September 16, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett ‘You know how to whistle, don’t ya? Just put your lips together and blow.’ Whenever I watch the movie ‘To Have and Have Not’, that provocative line Lauren Bacall (photo below) says to Humphrey Bogart always gives … Continue reading →

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Composer Maurice Jarre’s ups and downs scoring films

Posted on September 14, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett French film composer Maurice Jarre, who was born 100 years ago yesterday, is invariably linked with director David Lean but there were other filmmakers he worked with more than once and he had interesting anecdotes about them. … Continue reading →

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Alfred Hitchcock had a wicked way with film music

Posted on August 13, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett The films of Alfred Hitchcock, who was born on this day 125 years ago, are noted for their exceptional scores and it was no accident.  Composer John Williams told me that the master of suspense had a … Continue reading →

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Richard Lester on making ‘A Hard Day’s Night’

Posted on July 6, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett Sixty years ago today, a little rock’n’roll movie titled ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ starring the Beatles was released in the U.K. Their first album had come out less than eighteen months earlier, their singles were topping the … Continue reading →

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Sydney Pollack – a filmmaker with a great sense of music

Posted on July 1, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett Music has been an intrinsic element of filmmaking since the silent era but not all filmmakers have had a full grasp of how to blend it successfully into a production. Sydney Pollack, who would have turned 90 … Continue reading →

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Dave Grusin’s good and bad memories scoring movies

Posted on June 26, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett Great keyboard jazz player Dave Grusin, who turns 90 today, has written many wonderful movie scores including several for the late director Sydney Pollack, who told me, ‘He’s a chameleon, he can do anything.  His range is … Continue reading →

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