Monty Norman, the composer and lyricist whose oeuvre includes the famous James Bond theme, has died at the age of 94, his family has confirmed.
The child of Latvian immigrants, Norman grew up in East London, where his mother bought him his first guitar when he was 16.
Before moving to film, he composed music for West End theater plays, such as Ekspresso Bongo i Sweet Irma.
His Bond theme music, commissioned for the film Doctor No - the first in a series of achievements about the British spy from 1962, it was used in all sequels.
- James Bond and MI6: What is truth and what is fiction
- What Bond villains tell us about the world we live in
- The best James Bond songs that didn't end up in the movies
Producer Kubi Broccoli asked Norman to compose the score for the film, as he was impressed by his musical theater CV.
The composer used one of his previous compositions - "Bad Sign Good Sign" made for the musical adaptation of VS Najpol's novel "The House for Mr. Biswas" - and reworked it with the suave spy in mind.
Having switched the main riff from sitar to electric guitar, Norman knew he had captured the essence of the 007 numbered secret agent.
"His sexuality, his mystery, his ruthlessness - it's all there in a few notes," he later recalled.
Norman also wrote "Underneath the Mango Tree" which follows the famous beach scene from the film Doctor No with Ursula Andres and Sean Connery.
John Barry did the arrangement for the Bond theme, leading some people to assume he wrote it, much to Norman's displeasure.
In 2001, he took the British newspaper The Sunday Times to court over an article claiming that he was not the author of the famous guitar line and was awarded £30.000 (more than €35.000) for defamation.
In a rich career, Norman also sang with famous bands and appeared on variety shows alongside Harry Seccombe, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Tommy Cooper.
He also wrote the music for the film Hammer Productions - The two faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) Call me Bvana, Bob Hope's Eon Productions and a mini TV series Dickens of London (1976)
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter i Viber. If you have a topic proposal for us, contact us at bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
Bonus video:
