Jerome Moross (August 1, 1913July 25, 1983) was an American composer best known for his music for film and television. He also composed works for symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, soloists and musical theater, as well as orchestrating scores for other composers.

Biography

He was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City, United States, in 1913 to Jewish parents: Mollie (Greenberg) Moross, born in New York, and Samuel Moross, born in Russia. He became a talented piano player and composed music for the theater. During his early years, Moross met and became lifelong friends with

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

. In 1931, he met

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

and joined his Young Composers Group, whose members also included Herrmann. Copland supported his work and Herrmann provided him an introduction to the entertainment media, beginning with the composition of music cues for radio shows in 1935. In the 1940s he began to work in Hollywood, California, where he would compose the music scores for sixteen films from 1948 to 1969. In 1956 he composed the score for the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

drama '' The Sharkfighters'', possibly traveling to Cuba with the film company. The score is distinctive in its use of ethnic themes featuring

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

and percussion instruments that stress the

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

rhythm that soon became the signature style element of his scores for many

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

s. His best-known film score is that for the 1958 movie ''

The Big Country ''The Big Country'' is a 1958 American epic Western film directed by William Wyler, and starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, and Charles Bickford. The supporting cast features Burl Ives and Chuck Connors. F ...

'', for which he was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by ...

. According to Moross, he composed the main title after recalling a walk he took in the flatlands around

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, New Mexico, during a visit in October 1936, shortly before he moved to Hollywood. His other works include the music for the films '' The Proud Rebel'' (1958), '' The Mountain Road'' (1951), ''

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...

'' (1960), ''

Five Finger Exercise ' is a 1962 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann and produced by Frederick Brisson from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett based on the play by Peter Shaffer. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film st ...

'' (1962), ''

The Cardinal ''The Cardinal'' is a 1963 American drama film produced independently, directed by Otto Preminger and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by the same by Henry Morton Robinson. The ...

'' (1963), ''

The War Lord ''The War Lord'' is a 1965 American drama historical film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring Charlton Heston. The film, which concerns medieval warfare and culture in 11th-century Normandy, is an adaptation of the play ''The Lovers ...

'' (1965), ''

Rachel, Rachel ''Rachel, Rachel'' is a 1968 American drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman and starring his wife, Joanne Woodward, in the title role and co-starring Estelle Parsons and James Olson. The screenplay, by Stewart Stern based on the 196 ...

'' (1968), ''

The Valley of Gwangi ''The Valley of Gwangi'' is a 1969 American fantasy Western film produced by Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen, directed by Jim O'Connolly, written by William Bast, and starring James Franciscus, Richard Carlson, and Gila Golan. Creatu ...

'' (1969) and '' Hail, Hero!'' (1969). He also composed the main theme for the 3rd–8th seasons of the television western series ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'', the theme of which was based on his score for the 1959 historical western '' The Jayhawkers!''. Moross wrote the music for the musical '' The Golden Apple'', which premiered

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in 1954 and then transferred to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. Its best-known song was "Lazy Afternoon." He also orchestrated for other composers, usually uncredited, including such films as ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

'' for Copland and ''

The Best Years of Our Lives ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (also known as ''Glory for Me'' and ''Home Again'') is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Ru ...

'' for

Hugo Friedhofer Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 – May 17, 1981) was an American composer and cellist best known for his motion picture scores. Biography Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer was born in San Francisco, California, United States. His father, Paul, w ...

. Moross's concert works included a

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

for a piano duet and

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

, and a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

that was premiered by conductor Sir

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philh ...

on October 18, 1943 in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. In 1939, in New York City, he married Hazel Abrams, the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Russia. They had a daughter. Moross died in Miami on July 25, 1983, aged 69, from complications of a stroke and

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

, just 4 months after Hazel died. He was buried in Mount Ararat Cemetery in

East Farmingdale, New York East Farmingdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 6,617 at the time of the 2020 census. In the ...

, next to Hazel.

Theatre works

*''

Mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'' (1935) – play – co-

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

composer *''Susanna and the Elders'' (1948) – one-act

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

– composer *''Willie the Weeper'' (1948) – one-act musical – composer *''The Eccentricities of Davey Crockett'' (1948) – one-act musical – composer *'' The Golden Apple'' (1954) – musical – composer *''Gentlemen, Be Seated!'' (1963) – musical – composer

References

Sources

Bibliography

* Bloom, Ken. ''American song. The complete musical theater companion. 1877–1995'', Vol. 2, 2nd edition, Schirmer Books, 1996. * Borroff, Edith; Clark, J. Bunker. ''American Opera. A Checklist'', Harmonie Park Press, 1992. * Larkin, Colin. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Third edition, Macmillan, 1998. * Press, Jaques Cattell (Ed.). ''Who's who in American Music. Classical'', First edition. R. R. Bowker, New York 1983. * Sadie, Stanley. ''The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians'', Macmillan, 1980. * Sadie, Stanley; Hitchcock, H. Wiley (Ed.). ''The New Grove Dictionary of American Music''. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1986. * Wescott, Steven D. ''A Comprehensive Bibliography of Music for Film and Television'', Information Coordinatores, 1985. * Whitmer, Mariana. ''Jerome Moross's THE BIG COUNTRY: A Film Score Guide'', Scarecrow Press, 2012.

External links

* * *
Jerome Moross papers
at

Columbia University Libraries Columbia University Libraries is the library system of Columbia University and one of the largest academic library systems in North America. With 15.0 million volumes and over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources ...

Jerome Moross: An Introduction and Annotated Worklist
– Charles Tennyson Turner {{DEFAULTSORT:Moross, Jerome 1913 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American classical composers American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers American people of Russian-Jewish descent Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States Jewish American classical composers Jewish American film score composers La-La Land Records artists Musicians from Greater Los Angeles Composers from New York City Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American songwriters