Paul Giovanni (June 2, 1933 – June 17, 1990) was an American playwright, actor, director, singer and musician. Giovanni is best known for writing the music for the 1973 British horror film '' The Wicker Man''.

Early years

Giovanni was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and grew up there. He attended St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia before earning a Master's Degree in drama at The

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

. His graduate studies were under Rev. Gilbert V. Hartke, OP.

Career

Before Giovanni became an actor, he wrote songs for, and performed with, the Side Show rock group. Giovanni wrote the music for ''The Wicker Man'' soundtrack, also writing the lyrics and singing "Landlord's Daughter" and "Gently Johnny", where he appears in later cuts of the film. He also sang "Corn Riggs", adapting the lyrics from a Robert Burns song. The music was played by a group of six musicians, Gary Carpenter, Peter Brewis, Andrew Tompkins, Ian Cutler, Michael Cole, and Bernard Murray, who used the name Magnet for their collaboration. The group used a combination of traditional and modern (electric) instrumentation; some parts of the soundtrack were augmented by brass instruments. On Broadway, Giovanni directed ''Kingdoms'' (1981). He also wrote and directed '' The Crucifer of Blood'' (1978), which was later filmed for TV. Giovanni also composed a musical entitled ''Shot Thru The Heart'', which has only performed at Detroit's Birmingham Theatre before closing.

Death

Giovanni died of pneumonia from HIV/AIDS related complications on June 17, 1990.

Discography

*1970: ''Side Show'' - SD-8261 - LP with Greg Kreutz. *1973: ''The Wicker Man'' soundtrack with Magnet.

Plays

*1978: ''The Crucifer of Blood''

References

1933 births 1990 deaths AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) Catholic University of America alumni 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male writers Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) 20th-century American male singers {{US-singer-stub