Richard Hartley Richard Hartley

Born: 28 July 1944, Holmfirth, England

Biography:
English composer Richard Hartley is best known in the film music scene as the man who wrote the score for the big screen version of Richard O’Brien’s cult comedy-horror classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in 1975. Hartley studied classical piano and music theory at home in Yorkshire, before embarking multi-faceted musical career which saw him playing piano in an R&B band in Paris, scoring strings for reggae records, and arranging scores for experimental plays, TV and films. Hartley was brought in to help with musical auditions for the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972, where he first met director Jim Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien. While scoring Sharman's production of Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand in 1973, Hartley was asked to work with O'Brien on his new rock musical, “The Rocky Horror Show”. Playing keyboards as one of the original four-piece show band, Hartley also arranged O'Brien's songs, expanding his work later for The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie in 1975. On the back of the massive cult success of Rocky Horror, Hartley quickly established himself as a regular composer for British television, contributing memorable scores to series such as “Kennedy” and “Dance With a Stranger”. By the mid-1990s, Hartley’s talent had been spotted by international producers, and his subsequent work on projects such as “Princess Caraboo” (1994), “An Awfully Big Adventure” (1995), “Stealing Beauty” (1996), “A Thousand Acres” (1997) and “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers” (2004) have given him a solid reputation as a talented and reliable collaborator. In addition to these, Hartley has also had a great deal of success working on a number of popular Hallmark mini-series, including the Emmy-nominated “Alice in Wonderland” (1999) and “Don Quixote” (2000) and the recent “The Lion in Winter” (2003). In addition to his film work, Hartley has also written extensively for the Royal National Theatre in London, and has produced and arranged pop albums for artists as varied as Meatloaf, Little Richard and Bananarama.

Reviews:
Alice In Wonderland, An Awfully Big Adventure, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Rogue Trader

Filmography:
Flashbacks of a Fool (2008), Diamond Dead (2007), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), The Lion in Winter (2003), Puckoon (2002), Armadillo (2001), The Martins (2001), Don Quixote (2000), L.A. County 187 (2000), Mad About Mambo (2000), When Brendan Met Trudy (2000), Rogue Trader (1999), The Brylcreem Boys (1999), Alice in Wonderland (1999), Curtain Call (1999), All the Little Animals (1998), Playing God (1997), A Thousand Acres (1997), The Designated Mourner (1997), When Secrets Kill (1997), The Van (1996), September (1996), Stealing Beauty (1996), Flowers of the Forest (1996), Rough Magic (1995), An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), Victory (1995), Princess Caraboo (1994), Murder In Mind (1994), No Man's Land (1994), Self Catering (1994), The Secret Rapture (1993), Suddenly Last Summer (1993), The Man Who Cried (1993), Comics (1993), The Rector's Wife (1993), The Railway Station Man (1992), Midnight's Child (1992), Running Late (1992), Afraid of the Dark (1991), Innocent Victim (1990), The March (1990), Ball-Trap on the Cote Sauvage (1989), Dealers (1989), She's Been Away (1989), Consuming Passions (1988), Tumbledown (1988), The Impossible Spy (1987), Mandela (1987), The Good Father (1987), Metamorphosis (1987), Dance with a Stranger (1985), Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil (1985), Bones (1984), Sheena (1984), Blue Money (1982), La Truite (1982), Bad Blood (1981), Shock Treatment (1981), Bad Timing (1980), High Tide (1980), The Lady Vanishes (1979), High Fidelity (1976), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Galileo (1975), Gerald Manley Hopkins (1973).

Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2007 (adjusted for inflation):
The Rocky Horror Picture Show ($344.1m), A Thousand Acres ($12.2m), Sheena ($12.1m), Stealing Beauty ($7.6m), Playing God ($6.4m), Princess Caraboo ($5.2m), Dance With a Stranger ($4.3m), The Van ($1.1m), The Good Father ($0.8m), Consuming Passions ($0.2m).

Awards:
1988 BAFTA Awards – Nominee, Best Original TV Music – Tumbledown
1999 Emmy Awards – Winner, Outstanding Music Composition for a Mini– Series, Movie, or Special – Alice in Wonderland
2000 Emmy Awards – Nominee, Outstanding Music Composition for a Mini– Series, Movie, or Special – Don Quixote

Alice in Wonderland An Awfully Big Adventure Don Quixote The Lion in Winter Princess Caraboo Puckoon The Rocky Horror Picture Show Sheena A Thousand Acres


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