Eric Rogers (Conductor and Composer)

Eric Rogers (25 September 1921 – 8 April 1981) was a British conductor and composer.

Rogers was interested in music from an early age, and during his attendance at church as a child, he was taught to play the church organ. His musical apprenticeship was generally untutored and he found himself playing the piano during the Second World War for free beer!

After the Second World War he set up his own orchestra, playing in the Orchid Room at London's Trocadero. As his reputation grew he was offered many conducting jobs for films. Most notably he conducted several "Carry On" films and was the musical director for the classic comedy film "Don't Lose Your Head" in 1966. He also conducted all of the music for the first James Bond film "Dr. No" under the title Eric Rodgers.

He would later go on to compose many film scores himself, most notably "Carry On Cabby" in 1963, "Carry On Matron" in 1972 and a hoard of other "Carry On" films; the final score which he provided was for "Carry On Emmanuelle" in 1978.

He emigrated to America in 1975, after working on and off between England and America since about 1970 and became much in demand for composing for film and T.V series. By this point he had struck up an alliance with DePatie and Freleng productions, who were at the time making a number of successful animated series for children, such as "Return to the Planet of the Apes" and "What's New Mr. Magoo". He would work for the company for four years, conducting scores for "What's New Mr. Magoo", "Pink Panther in a Pink Christmas" and providing scores for "Return to the Planet of the Apes" and the cult animated series "Spider-Woman (TV series)" for which he composed and conducted the theme and all the incidental music. He also conducted Dean Elliott's score for "The New Fantastic Four" animated series in 1978.

He would later conduct the music for "Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother" in 1981.

He died the same year at Chalfont St. Peter in Buckinghamshire, aged 59.