John Barry

London, Jan. 31 (Reuters): British composer John Barry, best known for providing the soundtrack to the James Bond films and winner of five Academy Awards, has died. He was 77.

“It is with great sadness that the family of composer John Barry announce his passing on January 30, 2011, in New York,” his family said in a statement released by Bond production company EON Productions.

“Barry is survived by his wife Laurie of 33 years and his four children and five grandchildren.” No cause of death was given but the BBC reported he died of a heart attack.

Barry scored 11 Bond movies, starting with From Russia With Love in 1963. According to EON, he was also brought in to arrange music already provided for Dr. No (1962), the first picture in the blockbuster series.

Fellow musicians paid tribute to Barry’s influence. “I think James Bond would have been far less cool without John Barry holding his hand,” Bond composer David Arnold told BBC Radio.

Barry was born in York in 1933, and in an interview given nearly 10 years ago he recalled witnessing the effects of Nazi bombing raids on the northern English city in 1942.

Asked in the interview what linked many of his most popular tunes, he replied: “I’m strongly attracted to subjects that deal with loss.”