Stanley Myers Cause Of Death, Obituary, Funeral

May 2024 · 3 minute read

Working closely with the directors Nicolas Roeg, Jerzy Skolimowski, and Volker Schlöndorff, Stanley Myers was an English composer and conductor who provided music for over sixty films and television shows. The “Cavatina” guitar tune he wrote for the 1970 movie “The Walking Stick” and later utilised as the theme for “The Deer Hunter” is his most well-known composition. Stanley Myers’s cause of death, obituary, and funeral will be discussed here. 

Stanley Myers Early Life And Death

The 6th of October 1930 marked Myers’ birth in Birmingham, England. He attended King Edward’s School as a teen. Between 1984 and his passing in 1993, he was married to choreographer, Eleanor Fazan. Myers died on November 9, 1993, in London in the United Kingdom. 

Stanley Myers Career

A few examples of the incidental music that Myers created for television include the tune for the BBC’s Question Time, the theme for All Gas and Gaiters and the 1964 Doctor Who serial The Reign of Terror. When Myers and Barry Fantoni went by the Chi Chi club, they were talking about the soundtrack for the 1966 film Kaleidoscope, starring Warren Beatty and Susannah York. They were searching for switched-on music because their powerful movie required switched-on soundtrack.

Myers composed the music for “House of Whipcord,” “Frightmare,” “House of Mortal Sin,” and “a Schizo,” which were all cult horror films directed by Pete Walker. According to the Pink Floyd website, “The Stanley Myers Orchestra” contributed the brass portions for their 1968 song Corporal Clegg in Myers’ honour.

He gained fame for the stirring guitar piece “Cavatina,” which he wrote in 1970 and had John Williams perform. It was then used as the title song for Michael Cimino’s 1978 film “The Deer Hunter,” for which Myers won the Ivor Novello Award. This song was performed by Williams on The Walking Stick in a slightly different arrangement, and in yet another rendition, words were added. “Cavatina” became much more well-known thanks to Cleo Laine and Iris Williams’ independent versions of “He Was Beautiful”.

In the 1980s, Myers and the filmmaker Stephen Frears frequently worked together. For his music for the film Prick Up Your Ears, he was given the “Best Artistic Contribution” award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987. He collaborated with Hans Zimmer and also composed the music for Nico Mastorakis’s low-budget films Time Traveller, Blind Date, The Wind, and Zero Boys. He was given another Ivor Novello Award in 1991 for the score to The Witches.

Stanley Myers Cause Of Death

After a protracted battle with cancer, Myers passed away on November 9, 1993, in London, United Kingdom, at the age of 63.

Stanley Myers Obituary

An obituary for Stanley Myers, written by Nicolas Roeg read:

“STANLEY MYERS loved the movies. He must have composed the score for more than 100 films, both for features and television. He had a huge knowledge of music and wonderful terms of reference. It was like being in the presence of a living Grove’s Dictionary. He was extremely generous to people like myself who had no formal musical training”.

He continued, “Stanley Myers, with all his love of life and ability to express his art through film, was primarily a great musician: one of those rare musical talents who have the gift of melody. Even when he composed the most complex pieces they were always driven by the most lyrical melodies”. 

Stanley Myers Funeral

The funeral of Myers was held shortly after he died. Friends, family and fans were present. 

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