Stanley Meyers

Stanley Myers (1930–1993) was an English composer and conductor, who scored over sixty films and television series. Myers was born in Birmingham, England; as a teenager he went to King Edward's School in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham. He is known for composing music for the cult horror films House of Whipcord, Frightmare, House of Mortal Sin and Schizo for filmmaker Pete Walker. Myers is best known for Cavatina (1970), an evocative guitar piece, played by John Williams, that served as the signature theme for Michael Cimino's 1978 film The Deer Hunter, and for which Myers won the Ivor Novello Award. A somewhat different version of this work, not performed by Williams, had appeared in The Walking Stick. During the 1980s, Myers worked frequently with director Stephen Frears. He also scored the film Wish You Were Here, nominated for a BAFTA Award, and several low budget features for director Nico Mastorakis, collaborating with Hans Zimmer. He won another Ivor Novello Award for his soundtrack to The Witches in 1991. Myers died of cancer aged 63 in Kensington and Chelsea, London.