Morris Stoloff
Morris Stoloff ( born August 1, 1898 in Philadelphia, † April 16, 1980 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles ) was an American conductor, composer and musical director of the film studio Columbia Pictures.
Life
Morris Stoloff was born in 1898 in Philadelphia. As a child, his musical talent was recognized and encouraged. He played the violin and studied for several years with the German violinist Leopold Auer. At age 16, he toured as a soloist throughout the United States and joined a year later than previously youngest member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at.
After the advent of sound film in the late 1920s, the film studios are desperately sought after composers and musicians who could provide them with the sound or the music for their films. In 1935 Stoloff a contract with Columbia Pictures, where he took over as musical director until 1962 and was responsible for both B- movies as well as for large-scale productions of all genres. Its main task was to coordinate the composers, conductors, musicians of the orchestra and the recording technique and coordinate also with regard to budget and schedule. If he particularly worked closely with a composer to create a musical theme for a film, he was mentioned in the credits of the film. As a result, he became one of the most commonly nominated filmmakers in the history of the Academy Awards. Nominated a total of 18 times, he received three Academy Award for Best Film Music, so among other things for the film musical Cover Girl ( Cover Girl, 1944) with Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly.
In the late 1940s Stoloff began for the Decca Records to record songs and soundtracks. In 1956, he had in the United States, a Top Ten hit with the song Moonglow, who joined the eponymous composition of the swing era with George Dunings love theme from the Columbia film Picnic ( Picnic, 1955). When Frank Sinatra founded Reprise Records in the early 1960s, he hired Stoloff as musical director, after both had in 1957 successfully worked together for the movie musical Pal Joey. For Reprise Records Stoloff then took numerous Broadway musicals such as Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter.
Morris Stoloff died in 1980 at the age of 81 years at the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ( 6702 Hollywood Boulevard).
Filmography (selection)
As musical director
Awards
Oscar
Nominated:
Won: