---
name: "Don Harper"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/don-harper"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "18 March 1921"
died: "30 May 1999"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T10:35:10.200439+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Don Harper

Composer. Born 18 March 1921 in Melbourne, Australia. Died 30 May 1999.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 18 March 1921, Melbourne, Australia
- **Died:** 30 May 1999

## Biography

Don Harper (18 March 1921 – 30 May 1999) was an Australian composer and jazz violinist. Born in Melbourne, he studied at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and later led one of Australia's prominent big bands.

He spent periods working in the United Kingdom, where he composed themes for television series including *World of Sport* (from 1964), *Champion House* (1967–1968) and *Sexton Blake* (1967–1971). He also wrote incidental music for the 1968 *Doctor Who* serial *The Invasion*.

Harper contributed additional and stock music to the 1978 film *Dawn of the Dead*. He returned to Australia in later years and served as Head of Jazz Studies at Wollongong University's School of Creative Arts from 1983 to 1990.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, ipfs.io.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Dawn of the Dead* (1978), Fi1m 86, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/dawn-of-the-dead.md)

## Also known for

- *Doctor Who* (1963), Original Music Composer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/don-harper