Noel Harrison, who sang "Windmills of Your Mind," has died at the age of 79.
Lori Chapman, Harrison's wife, said the British actor suffered a heart attack in Devon after finishing a performance, The Associated Press reports. Harrison later died in the hospital.
Before becoming a professional musician, Harrison was a British Olympic skier who went to the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. He was also the son of actor Rex Harrison. He then moved to the United States in the '60s.
His song "The Windmills of Your Mind" became the theme song for 1968's The Thomas Crown Affair and won an Oscar for best song. The song was written by Michel LeGrand and Alan and Marily Bergman.
He said on his website about the song, "I went to the studio one afternoon and sang it and pretty much forgot about it."
Harrison added, "I didn't realise until later what a timeless, beautiful piece Michel LeGrand and the Bergmans had written. It turned out to be my most notable piece of work," BBC News notes.
He sang two Leonard Cohen songs, "Suzanne" and "A Young Girl," that also became hits. He would also star in The Girl from UNCLE while living in the United States.
image: Wikimedia Commons
