Edwin Astley

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Edwin Thomas Astley (born April 12, 1922 in Warrington , Cheshire , England , † May 19, 1998 in Goring-on-Thames , Oxfordshire , England) was a British film composer .

Life

Astley dropped out of school at the age of 14 and worked for a company that made gas stoves. He joined the Royal Army Service Corps and began his career as a clarinetist and saxophonist in a military orchestra . After the end of World War II , he played in various dance orchestras in the 1940s before founding his own orchestra. In the 1950s he retired from the stage and began working as an arranger in London .

From 1954 he worked as a composer for film and television. In 1955 he wrote the score for the comedy The Mouse That Roared . In the 1960s, he composed the theme music for various television series of ITV , including Danger Man , The Saint and Department S .

In the 1970s, Astley retired into private life. His marriage to Hazel Balbirnie in 1945 resulted in three children. His eldest daughter married Pete Townshend , the guitarist of The Who , in 1968 , whereupon Astley worked several times as arranger for the band.

His theme on Simon Templar reached position three in the 1997 version of the band Orbital in the British singles chart .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Astley, Edwin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Astley, Edwin Thomas (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British film composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Warrington , Cheshire , England
DATE OF DEATH May 19, 1998
Place of death Goring-on-Thames , Oxfordshire , England