Barry Gray

The name Barry Gray may not mean much on its face to baby boomers, but a mention of some of the television series that he scored -- Fireball XL5, Supercar, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Thunderbirds, UFO, Space: 1999 -- will evoke instant recognition from most television viewers who were over 30 in 2001. Although he was engaged in the writing of music for all manner of television programs and even a few feature films scattered between them, Gray inadvertently provided the "soundtrack" for the childhood entertainment of millions of viewers around the world during the 1960s and 1970s. Gray was born in Lancashire, England, early in the 20th century and proved a natural musician at a young age. He later studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music and at Blackburn Cathedral and took up the study of composition with Hungarian composer Matyas Sieber. He began his music career writing arrangements for Feldman publishers in London, principally of theater music, and subsequently joined Radio Normandy in the 1930s. Gray's musical career was interrupted by six years of service in the Royal Air Force during World War II, which took him to Africa, India, and Burma. After the war, he returned to London, where he made a living writing and arranging music for various performers and publishers on a freelance basis, working in the music department at Denham Studios and composing and orchestrating music for the radio. Gray's abilities as an arranger and orchestrator soon became known to the top visiting talent of the day and he was engaged by such figures as Eartha Kitt and Hoagy Carmichael and beginning in 1949, he also served as the accompanist and arranger for Vera Lynn, on stage as well as on her television and radio appearances. In 1956, Gray joined a tiny,...