Who Was Diana Coupland? British Actor-Singer And Late Music Composer Monty Norman's Wife

Monty Norman, a British composer who wrote the theme tune for the James Bond films, has died. He was 94. A statement posted Monday on Norman’s official website said: “It is with sadness we share the news that Monty Norman died on 11th July 2022 after a short illness.”

Norman was married first to the actor Diana Coupland, with whom he had a daughter; the marriage ended in divorce. He later married his second wife, Rina Caesari.

Norman had already worked on stage musicals when producer Cubby Broccoli invited him to join the Bond team and compose music for Dr No, the first James Bond production. The deal was sealed when the producers offered to fly Norman and his then-wife, actor-singer Diana Coupland, to Jamaica, where the movie was being filmed, all expenses paid. “Well, that was the clincher for me!” Norman said in a story posted on his website. “I thought, even if Dr No turns out to be a stinker, at least we’d have sun, sea and sand to show for it!”

His Bond theme was repurposed from an earlier composition he wrote for a production of A House For Mr Biswas. The original featured the iconic riff being played with a sitar instead of an electric guitar. The theme has gone on to be used in every one of the 25 James Bond films.

Norman also wrote 'Underneath the Mango Tree' which accompanies the iconic Dr No beach scene featuring Sean Connery and Bond girl Ursula Andress. Coupland dubbed Andress’ singing voice for the song.

English actress and singer Diana Coupland (1932 - 2006) with singer and composer Monty Norman in London, after the couple announced their engagement (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Coupland questioned in a court case over Bond royalties

Years later, producers hired composer John Barry to rearrange the theme, and Barry was widely assumed to have written it — to Norman’s chagrin. Barry, who died in 2011, went on to compose scores for almost a dozen Bond films, including Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice.

Norman went to court to assert his authorship, suing the Sunday Times newspaper for libel over a 1997 article asserting the theme was composed by Barry. However, the High Court case involved a bizarre moment in which Coupland, by then Norman’s ex-wife, was cross-examined about the article. Coupland described it as "blatantly untrue."

Norman won the case and was awarded damages of 30,000 pounds.

Who Was Diana Coupland?

Coupland continued to work solidly through the 1980s and featured in popular shows including police drama Juliet Bravo and Triangle, the series set on a North Sea ferry.

The actress was also well known for her charitable works, becoming a patron for National Lupus UK, a charity supporting people suffering from Systemic and Discoid Lupus.

Soon after her divorce from Norman, she married Marc Miller, a producer, in 1980. Coupland died at the University Hospital in Coventry in November 2006, aged 78, after failing to recover following an operation to resolve long-term heart problems.

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