Goldfinger and Pure Imagination songwriter Leslie Bricusse dead at 90

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Songwriter and composer Leslie Bricusse has died, aged 90.

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The man behind the lyrics to James Bond themes Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, as well as songs from classic family films Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Doctor Dolittle, passed away on Tuesday.

The sad news was confirmed by his friend Joan Collins, who called Leslie “one of the giant songwriters of our time.”

Bricusse had a prolific career and often collaborated with Collins’ former husband Anthony Newley.

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“The writer of Candyman, Goldfinger amongst so many other hits, and my great friend Leslie Bricusse has sadly died today,” Collins wrote on social media. “He and his beautiful Evie have been in my life for over 50 years. I will miss him terribly, as will his many friends.”

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Born in London, Bricusse and Newley teamed up to write 1961 musical Stop the World I Want to Get Off and the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

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He also wrote many other musicals, including Scrooge, Hook, and Goodbye Mr Chips.

Bricusse won two Oscars for his work – his Doctor Dolittle hit Talk to the Animals picked up Best Original Song in 1968, and the Victor/Victoria music he wrote with Henry Mancini won Best Original Song Score in 1983.

He also picked up a Grammy Award in 1963 for the song What Kind of Fool Am I? from Stop the World I Want to Get Off, and staged his own musical revue in 2015, inspired by his beloved Willy Wonka tune Pure Imagination.

In his memoir, Pure Imagination: A Sorta-biography , Leslie called himself “one of the luckiest people I know.”