James Bond's Main (Music) Main Dead

Five-time Oscar winner John Barry, iconic composer behind some of Tinseltown's most memorable film scores, dead at 77

By Josh Grossberg Jan 31, 2011 7:01 PMTags

His name was Barry. John Barry.

The legendary film composer, best known for scoring several James Bond movies as well as Oscar-winning work on Born Free, Dances With Wolves and Out of Africa, has died. He was 77.

The British-born Barry passed away from a heart attack at his home in New York. 

Over a five-decade career in Hollywood, Barry won a whopping five Oscars. He collected bookend statuettes in 1967 for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for Born Free followed by Best Score wins for 1969's The Lion in Winter, 1986's Out of Africa and 1990's Dances With Wolves.

But he'll forever be remembered for his soundtracks for such classic 007 adventures as Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Moonraker, Octopussy, A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights. (He also fought a losing battle for credit for the famous guitar-driven Bond theme; despite his claims to writing the riff, a court ruled that it was composed by Monty Norman.)

Other notable Barry scores include Zulu, Midnight Cowboy, Walkabout, Somewhere in Time, Robin and Marian, Body Heat, Jagged Edge, Chaplin, and what turned out to be his final film, 2001's Enigma.