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John Turner(XL)

  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
John Turner was the the chosen pseudonym, as well as the name he preferred to use and be referred to by others, used by British lyricist James John Turner Phillips, who was born in London, England, UK on July 7, 1932).

He owned and ran the Peter Maurice Music Company. His company's most important lyricist was Geoffrey Parsons. His company's specialty in the music business was adaptations of original foreign language compositions for the English language, and to write lyrics for previously "instrumental only" songs, especially those songs known primarily in non-English markets. Most commonly, he would assign a song primary lyricist Parsons and when Parsons would complete his lyric compositions, Turner would "suggest" (really order or require) changes. The credits for the final lyrics composition would thenceforth be published under both names, and credited to "John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons,"

The most famous song which they adapted was "Smile," original music by Charles Chaplin, which Chaplin composed for his masterpiece film The Great Dictator (1940), and after re-publishing in 1954, would thereafter be forever credited to John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, Peter Maurice Music Company, Denmark Street, London.

Other songs which he is known for include: "Oh! My Pa-Pa" based on the German song "O Mein Papa," music by Paul Burkhard; "Mama," based on an original song by Cesare A. Bixio (as Cesare Andrea Bixio) for music, and original Italian lyrics credited to Bixio Cherubini (a Bixio pseudonym, for lyrics written with Bixio Cherubini) under the Italian title "Mamma son tanto felice" (Mum, I am so happy); and "Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart," written by German composer Eberhard Storch around 1950 (when and for his wife, who was in the hospital and he thought she was going to die), with English language lyrics written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, with the best-known version of the song recorded by English singer Vera Lynn.
BornJuly 7, 1932
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BornJuly 7, 1932
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
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  • Known for

    Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019)
    Joker
    8.3
    • Soundtrack
    • 2019
    Emma Stone in Cruella (2021)
    Cruella
    7.3
    • Soundtrack
    • 2021
    Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ellen Barkin in This Boy's Life (1993)
    This Boy's Life
    7.2
    • Soundtrack
    • 1993
    Chris Rock, Gabrielle Union, Cedric The Entertainer, Rosario Dawson, Hassan Johnson, Leslie Jones, Karlie Redd, Romany Malco, Tracy Morgan, Sherri Shepherd, Hayley Marie Norman, J.B. Smoove, Anders Holm, and Michael Che in Top Five (2014)
    Top Five
    6.4
    • Soundtrack
    • 2014

    Credits

    IMDbPro

    Soundtrack



    • Jaafar Jackson in Michael (2026)
      Michael
      7.4
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2026
    • Pillion (2025)
      Pillion
      6.9
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2025
    • Meghann Fahy in Drop (2025)
      Drop
      6.1
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2025
    • Howalds Fall (1990)
      Tatort
      7.0
      TV Series
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2024
    • Naples to New York (2024)
      Naples to New York
      6.9
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2024
    • Songs of Survival at the BBC (2024)
      Songs of Survival at the BBC
      TV Special
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2024
    • EastEnders (1985)
      EastEnders
      4.8
      TV Series
      • lyrics: "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" (uncredited)
      • 2022
    • Gemma Arterton in Funny Woman (2022)
      Funny Woman
      7.4
      TV Series
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2022
    • 60 Minutes (1968)
      60 Minutes
      7.4
      TV Series
      • lyrics: "Smile" (uncredited)
      • 2021
    • Look Me Over: Liberace (2021)
      Look Me Over: Liberace
      6.0
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2021
    • Tom Ellis in Lucifer (2016)
      Lucifer
      8.0
      TV Series
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2021
    • Emma Stone in Cruella (2021)
      Cruella
      7.3
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2021
    • Kiko Mizuhara in Ride or Die (2021)
      Ride or Die
      5.6
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2021
    • Ari Behn in Ari og kunsten (2021)
      Ari og kunsten
      6.9
      TV Movie
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2021
    • Nice Jazz Festival (2020)
      Nice Jazz Festival
      TV Special
      • lyrics: "Smile"
      • 2020

    Personal details

    • Born
      • July 7, 1932
      • London, England, UK
    • Other works
      (1950s-present/2020) Owner and manager of the Peter Maurice Music Company in London, England, UKJ.

    Did you know

    • Trivia
      He also collaborated with 'Nathan Korb,' a pseudonym for French composer Francis Lemarque on "The Little Shoemaker," which was originally composed as a French language song "Le petit cordonnier," by Lemarque.
    • Nickname
      • John or Johnny

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