Angela Morley

Angela Morley
Background information
Birth name	Walter Stott
Born	(1924-03-10)10 March 1924
Died	14 January 2009(2009-01-14) (aged 84)
Genres	Easy listening, classical, jazz, big band, film music
Occupations	Composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor
Instruments	Alto saxophone, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano
Years active	1940–2008
Website	www.angelamorley.com

Angela Morley (born Wally Stott, 10 March 1924 – 14 January 2009^[1]) was an English composer and conductor. Morley was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1924, and played saxophone in a number of dance bands, and in 1944 became a member of Geraldo's band.

She attributed her entry into composing and arranging largely to the influence and encouragement of the Canadian light music composer Robert Farnon. In 1972, Morley underwent a sex-change operation. Later in life, she lived in Scottsdale, Arizona. She died there on 14 January 2009 of complications from a fall and subsequent heart attack.

Morley won two Emmys for her work in music arrangement. These were in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction, in 1988 and 1990, both for television specials starring Julie Andrews. Morley received Emmy nominations for composing music for television series such as Dynasty and Dallas. She was twice nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Music, Original Song Score/Adaptation: for The Little Prince (1974), a nomination shared with Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, and Douglas Gamley; and for The Slipper and the Rose, which Morley shared with Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.

Pre-transition Works

She was originally a composer of light music, best known for pieces such as the jaunty Rotten Row and A Canadian in Mayfair, a homage to Robert Farnon's Portrait of a Flirt. She is also remembered for writing the theme tune and incidental music for Hancock's Half Hour and was the musical director for The Goon Show from the third series in 1952 to the last show in 1960. Another very short, but fondly remembered, theme was the 12-note-long "Ident Zoom-2", written for Lew Grade's Associated TeleVision (ATV) and in use from the introduction of colour television in 1969 until the demise of ATV in 1981.

In 1953, she began a long association with the Philips record label, arranging for and accompanying the company's artists, as well as releasing records, including the 1958 LP 'London Pride'.

In 1958 she worked with Shirley Bassey, most notably on the song "As I Love You", which got to #1 in the UK singles chart in January 1959.^[2] She also worked with Dusty Springfield and the first four highly regarded solo albums by Scott Walker. In 1962 and 1963, she arranged the United Kingdom entries for the Eurovision Song Contest, Ring-A-Ding Girl and Say Wonderful Things, both sung by Ronnie Carroll. The former was conducted on the Eurovision stage in Luxembourg by her as well.

In 1961 she provided the orchestral accompaniments for a selection of choral arrangements made by Norman Luboff for an RCA LP that was recorded in London's Walthamstow Town Hall. The New Symphony Orchestra (an ad hoc recording ensemble) was conducted by Leopold Stokowski, and the choir of professional British singers, as rehearsed by Luboff, performed such favourites as "Deep River", Handel's "Largo", Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", Rachmaninov's "Vocalise", etc., under the LP's title "Inspiration" (also later reissued on a BMG Classics CD). In 1962 she arranged and conducted the RCA Red Seal debut album Romantic Italian Songs for Italian-born tenor Sergio Franchi. She also did the arrangements and conducting for Franchi's 1963 RCA album, Women in My Life.

Works - As Angela Morley

After her sex change, she orchestrated, arranged, and supervised the music for the final musical film collaboration of Lerner and Loewe, The Little Prince (1974). At this time she was also a regular guest conductor of the BBC Radio Orchestra and BBC Big Band.

In 1976 she was music supervisor, arranger, and conductor for the Sherman Brothers musical adaptation of the Cinderella story, The Slipper and the Rose. She won Oscar nominations for both films.^[3] Additionally, she wrote most of the score for the 1978 film version of Watership Down, although the prelude and opening was by Malcolm Williamson. From about this point she began a collaboration with John Williams, the composer for Star Wars and other films,^[4] though working in an uncredited capacity.

During the 1980s she wrote numerous arrangements for the Boston Pops Orchestra and scored many episodes of TV shows, including Dynasty, Dallas, Falcon Crest, and Hotel. She was nominated multiple times for Emmy Awards and won for music direction of Julie Andrews TV specials.^[5]

Selected filmography

• The Lady Is a Square (1959)

References

External links

• Official Angela Morley website
• Biography at the Robert Farnon Society
• Angela Morley at the Internet Movie Database
• Angela Morley at Allmusic