MR PREVIEW , 89 , DEAD
Morecambe & Wise conductor bows out
DAILY STAR, Friday, March 1, 2019
COMPOSER André Previn – who appeared in one of Morecambe and Wise’s most famous TV sketches – has died aged 89.
He won four Oscars, but many will remember him attempting to conductGrieg’s piano concerto with the comedy duo. In the scene, shown many times since 1971, Eric Morecambe greeted him as Mr Preview. The sketch began with Previn saying he was led to believe he was brought in to conduct violinist Yehudi Menuhin.
However, Previn is told that Menuhin has been cancelled and the hapless Morecambe fills in to play Grieg’s piano concerto.
As Morecambe plays the piano abysmally, he delivers the iconic line: “I’m playing all the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order.” In his musical career, Previn is best known for ditching the dollars of Hollywood to pursue his love of classical music as a jazz pianist.
He was regularly on TV screens in the 1970s.
German-American Previn, who was married five times including to actress Mia Farrow, was the jazz virtuoso and legendary conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Farrow wrote last night: “See you in the Morning beloved Friend. May you rest in glorious symphonies.”
André won Academy Awards for his work on Gigi (1958), Porgy And Bess (1959), Irma La Douce (1963) and My Fair Lady (1964).
His manager said he died at his home in New York yesterday.
He is survived by his nine children Matthew, 49, Sascha, 49, Soon-Yi, 48, Fletcher, 44, Daisy, 44, who he had with Farrow, daughters Alicia and Claudia with his former spouse Betty Bennett, and Lukas, 36, and Li-An Mary, with Heather Sneddon.