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1-13 of 13
- Actress
Lily Latte was born on 14 October 1901 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress. She was married to Fritz Lang. She died on 24 November 1984 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Paul Dahlke was born on 12 April 1904 in Groß-Streitz, Pomerania, Germany [now Strzezenice, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for Confessions of Felix Krull (1957), Flying Classroom (1954) and Dubrovsky (1959). He was married to Elfe Gerhart and Doris Schacht. He died on 24 November 1984 in Salzburg, Austria.- Willis Robards was born on 5 August 1912 in Weehawken, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Shannon (1961), Perry Mason (1957) and Mister Ed (1961). He died on 24 November 1984 in San Mateo, California, USA.
- Producer
- Director
- Production Manager
Ben Schwalb was born on 15 June 1901 in Riga, Latvia. He was a producer and director, known for Jet Job (1952), The Fatal Warning (1929) and Hot News (1953). He was married to Celia Shakin. He died on 24 November 1984 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Willis Robards Jr. was born on 5 August 1912 in Weehawken, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Two Twins (1923). He died on 24 November 1984 in San Mateo, California, USA.
- Jimmy Jackson was born on 25 July 1910 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He died on 24 November 1984 in Desert Hot Springs, California, USA.
- Arnaud de Rosnay was born on 9 March 1946 in Paris, France. He was married to Isabel Goldsmith-Patiño and Jenna de Rosnay. He died on 24 November 1984 in South China Sea.
- Peter Mews was born in 1921 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for The Unforeseen (1958), Folio (1955) and The Wayne & Shuster Comedy Special (1967). He died on 24 November 1984 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- June Moir was born on 22 November 1923 in Chelsea, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950), Mrs. Dot (1950) and The Six Wives of Calais (1949). She was married to Ian Colin. She died on 24 November 1984 in Kensington, London, England, UK.
- Composer
- Music Department
Godfrey Ridout was born on 6 May 1918 in Toronto, Canada. He was a composer, known for Folio (1955), Festival (1960) and Hot Ice (1940). He died on 24 November 1984 in Toronto, Canada.- Music Department
Henry Cyril Watters was the eldest of three children whose parents were Henry James and Florence Edith Watters. His sister Vera was born in 1910, and his younger sister Joan was born in 1922. Cyril's father's family were Londoners in trades such as boot making and tailoring. His mother's family had roots in oyster gathering in the Whitstable area going back to the 1740s.
From his early childhood Cyril had a strong desire to write music. In a magazine interview in 1937 he confessed that at the age of 12 he cajoled his sister and friends to assist him in staging an operetta, but his success as a musician did not happen overnight. He left school aged 16 in 1923 having matriculated, and by day he worked as a ledger clerk, while in his spare time he played piano in various small groups. He became known locally, playing the piano at dances, concerts and social events, and was a member of the New Shaftesbury Dance Band.
In 1929 he won the first prize in a Melody Maker Song Foxtrot competition with a piece called She's My Slip Of A Girl. This was recorded commercially by Tommy Kinsman (Piccadilly records), Arthur Lally (Decca), Ray Noble and the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra (HMV) and Jack Payne and his BBC Dance Orchestra (Columbia). The composer was credited as 'Henry Watters', which must have delighted Cyril's father who had the same name.
This success encouraged Cyril to send songs to various publishers, but he kept getting them rejected. In 1932 he won £50 in a Daily Mail 'New Rhythm' contest, and a year later he took the courageous decision to devote himself full time to music. For a short while he studied at the Guildhall School of Music, although he said that most of his knowledge was gleaned from text books.
The next landmark came in 1935, when he signed a contract with music publishers Francis, Day and he joined the Performing Rights Society. At the same time he was still playing the piano for his main source of income, and during the summer of 1937 he was appearing regularly at a roadhouse called "Houseboat" near Radlett, Herts.
By 1939 he decided that his financial situation was sufficiently secure, and he married his wife Olive Doris at Willesden Registry Office on 29 May. After a honeymoon in Devon they spent the summer in the Isle of Wight so that Cyril could fulfill a playing contract.
Cyril's first daughter Jill was born on 12 August 1940. When she was five weeks old the family moved to Hitchin, Herts to escape the London bombing: the very same day that they moved their house in Willesden was destroyed. Cyril had to remain to work in London, so he lived with his parents for a while.
On 15 July 1941 Cyril joined the Royal Air Force and was trained as a radio mechanic and in radar systems. On 15 February 1942 Cyril's son John (always known in the family as Jack) was born, and the same year saw his first published composition Irene. The copyright contract showed his address as 'RAF Neatishead, Norwich'. A second daughter Julie was born on 30 May 1944.
After spending most of the war at RAF bases in England, early in 1945 he was sent to Belgium then to Germany. He returned to England in June, and was demobbed in January 1946. Back in civilian life Cyril joined Lawrence Wright's Music Publishers as an arranger, where he remained until 1950. In 1947 the family had moved from Hitchin back into London at 49 Geary Road, Dollis Hill, Willesden, where Cyril lived for the rest of his life.
The most successful of Cyril's early compositions was Bargain Basement, which Boosey & Hawkes recorded for their Recorded Music Library in 1949. For a while Cyril was at the music publishers Chappell, often producing piano scores of some of their most popular light orchestral works. Later he would talk about how this gave him an insight into Robert Farnon's scores, which he found fascinating.
Ice Shows were also to play a significant role in advancing Cyril's career as one of the new breed of top arrangers. In 1950 he provided the orchestrations and choral arrangements for "Cinderella On Ice" at the Empress Hall, and also composed some incidental music. He was similarly involved in the 1952 production of "Puss In Boots" for which he received the princely sum of £275.00! Producers outside London also engaged his services, with his name appearing on the credits for ice shows in Bournemouth from 1952 to 1955. Top stars of the time, such as Tessie O'Shea and Janet Brown also commissioned songs from Cyril.
His gentle sense of humor sometimes came to the fore in the songs he composed. When his children were young they were taken on seaside holidays, and they loved covering him with sand on the beach. Cyril wrote I Can't Remember Where I Buried Daddy which went down well in concert parties and cabarets.
From 1953 to 1962 he was the chief arranger for Boosey & Hawkes, and they published several of his own compositions. His works were also accepted by other publishers, and by the end of the 1950s he was one of Britain's leading composers of mood music - the melodies recorded especially for use by radio, television, films, documentaries and newsreels. His output during the 1960s mushroomed to well over one hundred compositions, one of them - "The Willow Waltz" - winning him a prestigious Ivor Novello Award in 1960 following its use as the theme for a BBC-TV serial The World of Tim Frazer (1960).
Cyril's contract with Boosey & Hawkes was not restrictive. As well as arranging music written by many of their own composers, while they were happy to accept many of his original compositions, they did not prevent him from submitting work to rival publishers. From 1962 onward he decided to work freelance, thus ushering in a period of his life that would witness a large number of original compositions in many styles.
In 1962 Cyril's song White Wedding was recorded for HMV by Sheila Southern with the Mike Sammes Singers and Frank Cordell and his Orchestra. It sold steadily for a long time, with total sales figures exceeding many so-called 'hits' of the day, which often managed big sales for a week or two (thus placing them in the charts) followed quickly by oblivion. The tune was originally entered in a songwriting contest promoted by the 'People' newspaper, where it came 4th.
When he wasn't working, Cyril enjoyed playing cricket and he was also a meticulous stamp collector, amassing around 15 albums plus a specialist one of Great Britain. He also collected first day covers, and sought out stamps relating to music and dance.
By the mid-1960s Cyril had composed over 300 works, half of which were for background music libraries - today usually called 'production music'. In 1964 Radio South East chose his Pot Luck as their signature tune, which was heard regularly for four years. Although he professed to dislike conducting, it was inevitable that Cyril would one day be engaged by the BBC. His first broadcast conducting 'Cyril Watters and his Players' was on the Home Service on 9 January 1963. But Cyril clearly didn't press for more, because he didn't return to BBC studios until 25 January 1965 for the famous "Music While You Work" program, with a second following on 10 May 1965 and a final one on 4 July 1966. Cyril's ensemble included famous names including Reginald Leopold, Arthur Anton and Robert Docker. Prior to that, many of Cyril's arrangements had been featured in the show when he was an arranger for various publishers. He also contributed to the military band repertoire.
Although he was accomplished at writing in a variety of different moods, it is perhaps his bright and breezy pieces that were so successful in the mood music libraries. Not content with just creating a strong main melody - always instantly appealing - his works are characterized by attractive middle themes which lift the composition to a higher level. Not all his contemporaries took such care in ensuring that their works were so completely satisfying.
Cyril went into semi-retirement during the 1970s, although he continued to compose and arrange. Since 1982 his health had been failing and he died on 24 November 1984 aged 77.- Writer
- Editor
William B. Laub was born on 14 July 1889 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. William B. was a writer and editor, known for The Fair Cheat (1923), The Broadway Drifter (1927) and Out of the Chorus (1921). William B. died on 24 November 1984 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.- Max Grothusen was born on 24 September 1903 in Antwerpen, Flanders, Belgium. He was an actor, known for Thérèse Raquin (1966), Vor Gott und den Menschen (1955) and Hungerjahre - in einem reichen Land (1980). He died on 24 November 1984 in Berlin, Germany.