Burt Bacharach Was Mike Myers’ Inspiration Behind the ‘Austin Powers’ Film Franchise
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Burt Bacharach played a pivotal role in the timeless film series Austin Powers.
Following the death of the legendary songwriter on Wednesday, his collection of cameos came to light again. While the musician was best known for hits like “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “I Say a Little Prayer,” he was also beloved for his cameos in the Austin Powers film franchise.
As it turns out, his role in those movies was more than just a short clip. His song “The Look of Love” sparked the idea of Austin Powers in Mike Myers as he was driving home from hockey practice, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“Did I arrive at that intellectually? No,” he told Rolling Stone in 1999, adding that “Austin’s a shag machine” with an “enhanced libido.”
He continued, “I arrived at it by hearing the song ‘The Look of Love,’ the national anthem of libido, and thinking, ‘Where have all the swingers gone?'”
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Bacharach made several cameos throughout the franchise. In International Man of Mystery, he plays “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and in The Spy Who Shagged Me he plays “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” with Elvis Costello (whom he often collaborated with). He then appeared in Austin Powers in Goldmember during the end credits.
In International Man of Mystery, the iconic scene comes midway through the film as Powers is struggling to adapt to a new decade after traveling through time and into the ’90s. As Bacharach’s song begins to play, he catches up on what happened since his time period in the ’60s.
He then rides down the Las Vegas strip with Elizabeth Hurley’s character and says, “Ladies and gentlemen… Mr. Burt Bacharach.” The musician appears in a tuxedo and plays the song on the piano.
Austin Powers director Jay Roach paid tribute to the late musician on Thursday as he reflected on the final scene of the film with Bacharach.
“On the last night of filming, Burt Bacharach performed ‘What the World Needs Now Is Love’ over and over, sitting at a piano on top of a double-decker bus going up and down the Vegas strip, while Mike and Elizabeth danced,” Roach told the Los Angeles Times.
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“The early takes were great, but I couldn’t bring myself to say, ‘cut, move on’— it was just too sublime. We only stopped when the sun came up,” he added. “Elizabeth, Mike and I all went up and kissed Burt with tears in our eyes. That night his song became the heart of our film. Burt’s love — which the world does desperately need — will live on through his music, as will our love for Burt.”
Bacharach died of natural causes on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, his publicist Tina Brausam told the Associated Press. He was 94.
Since then, several musicians, including his dear friend and musical partner Dionne Warwick have paid tribute to the late star.
Read the original article on People