Biography
Francis Chagrin (born Alexander Paucker) was a composer of film scores, orchestral music and incidental music for television. Born in Bucharest, Romania, on 15 November 1905, he studied engineering in Zurich while secretly pursuing music, later training in Paris with Paul Dukas and Nadia Boulanger before settling in England in 1936.
He composed scores for over 200 films, including An Inspector Calls (1954), The Colditz Story (1955) and Greyfriars Bobby (1961). His television work included incidental music for the Doctor Who serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964). In 1963 he received the Harriet Cohen International Music Award as film composer of the year. Chagrin founded the Society for the Promotion of New Music in 1943.
He died in London on 10 November 1972.
