Paul Ferris (composer)
Richard Paul Ferris (2 May 1941 – 30 October 1995) was an English film composer and actor.
Born in Corby, Northamptonshire, England, Ferris provided scores for various low budget British horror films during the late 1960s - early 1970s. He is probably best known for his rousing score for Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968), in which he also appeared in a bit part under the pseudonym "Morris Jar" (in tribute to composer Maurice Jarre). Due to convoluted rights issue problems, Ferris' critically acclaimed music had been wiped from the soundtrack for the film's U.S. videotape and laserdisc releases for decades, replaced by a generic synthesizer score by Kendall Schmidt.[1] In 2007, the film was released on DVD under the MGM Midnite Movies banner by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with Ferris' score intact. He also scored Reeves' The She Beast (1966) and The Sorcerers (1967), as well as other British films including The Blood Beast Terror (1967), Clegg (1969), The Creeping Flesh (1973), and Persecution (1974).
Ferris made a few other acting appearances in the 1960s, notably as John Mannering's sidekick David Marlowe in The Baron. He also appeared in Dixon of Dock Green and the 1964 comedy film Rattle of a Simple Man.
As a songwriter, Ferris wrote Cliff Richard's 1966 number 7 UK hit Visions and The Shadows' 1967 number 24 UK hit Maroc 7.
A long time sufferer of Huntington's Chorea, Ferris committed suicide by drug overdose at the age of 54.[2]
References
- ↑ Lucas, Tim. The Video Watchdog Book, Video Watchdog, 1992. ISBN 0-9633756-0-1
- ↑ Halligan, Benjamin. Michael Reeves, Manchester University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7190-6351-5
External links
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