Angela Morley RIP

Angela Morley? Never heard of her. Then I read her obituary in the Telegraph:

"In 1974 Angela Morley was nominated for an Academy Award, for her contribution to The Little Prince, and again the following year for The Slipper And the Rose. She attended the Oscar ceremonies on both occasions, and was so encouraged by her reception in Hollywood that she resolved to move to California. In the United States she worked mainly in television, contributing scores to numerous episodes of Dallas, Dynasty, Cagney & Lacey, Wonderwoman and other long-running series. She also formed a firm working relationship with the composer John Williams, working with him on such blockbusters as Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, ET, Home Alone and Schindler's List.

Although never credited as composer of a major Hollywood score, Angela Morley worked as orchestrator, arranger and sometimes conductor with names such as André Previn, Miklos Rosza and Lionel Newman. Over the course of her Hollywood years she gained three Emmy Awards and six nominations. Her last years were spent writing for recordings by soloists such as Itzhak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma, and for symphony orchestras."

Nu, this is not mind-numbingly boring ... always good for the obits to include more women. On the other hand, this is what you really need to know (if you did not already):

"Angela Morley was born Walter Stott in Leeds on March 10 1924, the son of a ukulele-playing watchmaker. He began taking piano lessons aged eight, but had to give up when his father died suddenly three months later. Encounters with the violin and accordion followed, and he finally settled on the clarinet and alto saxophone. Leaving school at 15, he went on tour with Archie's Juvenile Band for a weekly wage of 10 shillings."

the rest is here.