Burt Rhodes (17 April 1923 – 21 June 2003) was born in Guiseley, West Yorkshire. He was one of Britain's most successful light entertainment

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

s and composers. His career covered radio and TV, West End and Broadway musicals and he worked with many famous stars including Judy Garland, Pearl Bailey, Sammy Davis Jr, Vic Damone, Cliff Richard, Johnny Mathis, Frankie Vaughan, Lovelace Watkins, The Supremes, Eartha Kitt, Howard Keel and Bruce Forsyth. In his childhood he had learned to play the piano and the organ, and later became a BBC radio band leader. Rhodes also worked on many television productions including '' The Benny Hill Show'', ''The Nixon Line'' with the magician David Nixon, and the BBC's annual pantomime. He worked on the television shows of Paul Daniels and Beryl Reid. From 1966 he was musical director at The Talk of the Town in London, leading the orchestra there to accompany such artists as Pearl Bailey, Mel Tormé, Judy Garland, Johnny Mathis, The Supremes and Frankie Vaughan. He also orchestrated films, including the theme tune for the first James Bond film '' Dr No'' (1962). He was also a prolific composer and among his memorable credits was the theme tune for the critically acclaimed television sitcom '' The Good Life''. Much appreciated by his peers for his professionalism and intelligence, he was often referred to as "the musicians' musician". He numbered among his many friends musicians such as Ronnie Hazlehurst, Monty Norman and

Phil Phillips John Philip Baptiste (March 14, 1926 – March 14, 2020), known as Phil Phillips, was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 song, " Sea of Love". Biography Baptiste was encouraged to pursue a career as a singer after a scho ...

. In 1958 he was the musical director for Wolf Mankowitz's '' Expresso Bongo'' which starred Paul Scofield and Millicent Martin. He followed this with Anthony Newley's '' Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'' and Lionel Bart's ''

Blitz! ''Blitz!'' is a musical by Lionel Bart. The musical, described by Steven Suskin as "massive", was set in the East End of London during the Blitz (the aerial bombings during World War II). The story drew on Bart's childhood memories of London's J ...

'' of which

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

said it was "noisier and longer than the real thing". In September 1958 Robert Nesbitt, impresario Bernard Delfont and restaurateur

Charles Forte Charles Carmine Forte, Baron Forte (26 November 1908 – 28 February 2007) was an Italian-born Scottish hotelier who founded the leisure and hotels conglomerate that ultimately became the Forte Group. Early life Charles Forte was born as Car ...

opened the Talk of the Town on the site of the old London Hippodrome and converted it into a restaurant and cabaret venue. Rhodes had provided the music for Nesbitt's glamorous floorshows, and by 1961 he had become musical director with his own large orchestra for more than 20 years. He directed the music at several

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

s at the London Palladium. He also served on committees for the Musicians' Union and the

Performing Right Society PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

. In the 1980s he appeared on screen in the Channel 4 series Top C's and Tiaras. Rhodes was a life-long cricket fan and a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club. He was married to

Rosalyn Wilder Rosalyn may refer to: * "Rosalyn" (song), song by Pretty Things People *Rosalyn Borden (1932–2003), American actress *Rosalynn Carter, wife of former President of the United States Jimmy Carter *Rosalyn Gold-Onwude (born 1987), American basketba ...

who was Judy Garland's assistant during her season at the Talk of the Town. He died in 2003, aged 80. He is survived by his daughter Alison and his partner Rosalyn.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Burt 1923 births 2003 deaths BBC people English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English bandleaders British music arrangers English television composers 20th-century British conductors (music)