---
name: "Richard Rodney Bennett"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/richard-rodney-bennett"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "29 March 1936"
died: "24 December 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T15:44:04.017095+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."
---

# Richard Rodney Bennett

Composer. Born 29 March 1936 in Broadstairs, Kent, England, UK. Died 24 December 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 29 March 1936, Broadstairs, Kent, England, UK
- **Died:** 24 December 2012
- **Active:** 1963–1994
- **Also known as:** Richard Bennett
- **Works often with:** Richard Curtis

## Biography

Richard Rodney Bennett was an English composer and pianist. He wrote scores for film and television as well as concert works, and performed as a jazz pianist and vocalist.

Bennett studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and with Pierre Boulez in Paris. He received a CBE in 1977 and was knighted in 1998. His film scores include *Indiscreet* (1958), *Billy Liar* (1963), *The Nanny* (1965), *Far from the Madding Crowd* (1967), *Billion Dollar Brain* (1967), *Nicholas and Alexandra* (1971), *Murder on the Orient Express* (1974), *Equus* (1977) and *Four Weddings and a Funeral* (1994). He also composed incidental music for the *Doctor Who* story *The Aztecs* (1964).

Bennett was nominated for three Academy Awards and won a BAFTA for *Murder on the Orient Express*. He lived in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Doctor Who* (1963), Fi1m 81, Music — [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *Four Weddings and a Funeral* (1994), Music

## Also known for

- *Murder on the Orient Express* (1974), Original Music Composer
- *Indiscreet* (1958), Original Music Composer
- *Equus* (1977), Original Music Composer
- *Billion Dollar Brain* (1967), Original Music Composer
- *Billy Liar* (1963), Original Music Composer
- *The Nanny* (1965), Original Music Composer
- *Far from the Madding Crowd* (1967), Original Music Composer
- *Nicholas and Alexandra* (1971), 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/richard-rodney-bennett