Laurie Holloway

Born on March 31, 1938, in Oldham, Lancashire, England, pianist, musical director, arranger, and composer Laurie Holloway took piano lessons from the age of seven, and six years later was organist and choirmaster at his local church. During the '50s, he toured with various groups, spent some time as pianist with Harry Roy's former drummer, Joe Daniels, and also played on cruise ships such as the QE2, with "Geraldo's Navy." In 1959, he joined Cyril Stapleton and became a regular session musician in U.K. record studios. Also in 1959, Holloway served as musical director for the popular Australian entertainer Rolf Harris' BBC radio show. This led him to work in that capacity for a whole range of musical personalities such as Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Anthony Newley and Cleo Laine. In 1964, Holloway contributed the music to Bob Grant's West End musical Instant Marriage, starring Grant and Joan Sims. In spite of some unfriendly notices, it ran for a healthy 366 performances. In 1965, he married U.S. singer Marion Montgomery and became her musical director. From then on, the couple made frequent appearances on television, radio, and the concert stage. From 1969 to 1975, Holloway toured as musical director with Engelbert Humperdinck, appearing on top-rated U.S. television shows with stars such as Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, and Dean Martin. Holloway's many compositions include "(Michael) Parkinson's Theme," "The Russell Harty Theme," "Punchlines," "Game for a Laugh," "Blind Date," "Child's Play Themes," "Pop Preludes (Novellos)," "More Pop Preludes," and (with Montgomery) a musical play titled A Dream of Alice, written in 1981 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Lewis Carroll. Apart from accompanying numerous artists on record, including Stéphane Grappelli (Norwegian Wood), Holloway worked regularly on radio with his own small groups, including Prism, a rock-jazz combo he formed in the 1980s specifically to play his own compositions. In the '90s and 2000s, he continued to perform and record with a variety of musicians and singers, and was also a familiar figure, as musical director and conductor, on television shows. Holloway died on January 9, 2025, after a brief illness; he was 86 years of age. ~ TiVo Staff