Charles Previn (January 11, 1888 – September 21, 1973) was an American film composer who was active at

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Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

during the 1940s and 1950s. Before being based in Hollywood, Previn arranged music for over 100 Broadway productions. Previn was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

to Henrietta Giballe and the rabbi Morris Previn, who a year earlier had immigrated from Graudenz via

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

to the United States. He graduated from Brooklyn High School and obtained a bachelor's degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1910. He obtained a master's degree from New York College of Music. From 1936 to 1944, Previn was musical director at

, overseeing everything from horror pictures to

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

fantasies. He was a cousin of the father of German-born composer, pianist, and conductor

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

and TV and film director

Steve Previn Stephen Wolf Previn (born Wolf Stefan Priwin; 21 October 1925 – 9 July 1993) was a German-born American director of television episodes and feature films and film production executive. Previn began his film career in 1943 as an editor for MGM an ...

(brothers).Hal Erickson, ''All Movie Guide'' He died in Los Angeles, aged 85.

Professional career

* Musician and conductor of

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and musical comedy * Conductor of the

St. Louis Municipal Opera The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first se ...

* Conductor of NBC's ''Camel Pleasure Hour'' in 1930, featuring cornetist

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

* Conductor on the NBC radio series ''Silken Strings'' from 1934 through 1936 * 1936–1944 — Musical director, arranger, composer and conductor at

. While there, Previn accumulated over 225 films to his credit, including most of

Deanna Durbin Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...

's films. * 1944 — Previn began working at other studios * 1945–1947 — Previn succeeded Ernö Rapée as music director/conductor of the

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...

Symphony * 1947 — Previn returned to Hollywood and worked at

Eagle-Lion Eagle-Lion Films was a British-American film production company owned by J. Arthur Rank intended to distribute British productions in the United States. In 1947, it acquired Robert R. Young's PRC Pictures, a small American production company, ...

and MGM * 1947 — Ithaca Conservatory of Music awarded Previn an honorary doctorate * 1953 — Previn retired While at Universal, Previn composed uncredited stock music for several of the studio's releases.

Partial filmography

* ''

The White Monkey ''The White Monkey'' is a 1925 American silent drama film, directed by Phil Rosen and starring Barbara La Marr, Thomas Holding, and Henry Victor. It was released by First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion pictur ...

'' (1925) * ''

Prescription for Romance ''Prescription for Romance'' is a 1937 American romantic comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon for Universal Pictures. It stars Wendy Barrie, Kent Taylor, and Frank Jenks. Plot Cast * Wendy Barrie as Valarie Barry * Kent Taylor as Steve Ma ...

'' (1937) * '' The Missing Guest'' (1938) * '' The Witness Vanishes'' (1939) * ''

Destry Rides Again ''Destry Rides Again'' is a 1939 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey ...

'' (1939; musical director) * ''

Inside Information Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...

'' (1939) * ''

Missing Evidence ''Missing Evidence'' is a 1939 American drama film, directed by Phil Rosen. It stars Preston Foster, Irene Hervey, and Inez Courtney, and was released on December 15, 1939. Cast list * Preston Foster as Bill Collins * Irene Hervey as Linda Parke ...

'' (1939) * ''

Ex-Champ ''Ex-Champ'' is a 1939 American drama film, directed by Phil Rosen. It stars Victor McLaglen, Tom Brown, and Nan Grey, and was released on June 16, 1939. Cast list * Victor McLaglen as Tom Grey * Tom Brown as Bob Hill * Nan Grey as Joan Grey ...

'' (1939) * '' Who Done It?'' (1942) * ''

'' (1942) * ''

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'' (1943)

Awards

Oscar Award

* Best Score (1937) — '' One Hundred Men and a Girl'' - Musical Director

Academy Award nominations

* Best Score (1938) — '' Mad About Music'' (w.

Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), professionally known as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...

) * Best Score (1939) — ''

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'' * Best Score (1940) — '' Spring Parade'' * Scoring of a Musical Picture (1941) — ''

Buck Privates ''Buck Privates'' is a 1941 musical film, musical military comedy film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bona fide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, peacetime draft o ...

'' * Scoring of a Musical Picture (1942) — '' It Started With Eve'' (w. Hans J. Salter) * Scoring of a Musical Picture (1944) — '' Song of the Open Road''

Family

Parents

* Father: Rabbi Morris Previn (December 1860,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

– 16 August 1929,

) * Mother: Henrietta Previn (September 1859,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

– September 1948,

New York, NY New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) ::Morris and Henrietta were married in about 1880. Morris Previn was a rabbi at Ascha-Shorem on 78 Ten Eyck Street in Brooklyn.

Siblings

* Rosie (December 1882,

– May 1948, New York, NY) :: MARRIED NAMES :: Rose Meyer (married Dr. Joseph H. Meyer) * Leo Previn (3 August 1884, Graudenz, Germany – February 1954, New York, NY) * Arthur Gerald Previn (14 February 1886, Germany – July 1969,

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Ch ...

) * Bess (born October 1892, New York City – April 30, 1983, New York City) :: MARRIED NAMES :: Bess Landau (married Saul Albert Landau 19 November 1914

Manhattan, NY Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

) :: Bess Nathanson :: Bess Kurtzman * Jules Previn (23 July 1894,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

– January 1976,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

) * William Oliver Previn (19 June 1896, New York City – 16 August 1978, Washington, D.C.) * Stanley S. Previn (3 August 1899 – November 1973, Los Angeles)

References

General references * ''Biography Index, A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines'', Volume 1: January 1946 – July 1949,

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, New York (1949) * ''Biography Index, A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines'', Volume 10: September 1973 – August 1976, H. W. Wilson Company, New York (1977) * ''Who Was Who on Screen, Third edition'', by Evelyn Mack Truitt,

R.R. Bowker R. R. Bowker LLC (trading as Bowker) is an American limited liability company domiciled under Delaware Limited Liability Company Law and based in Chatham, New Jersey. Among other things, Bowker provides bibliographic information on publishe ...

, New York (1983) * ''The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Third edition'',

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

, New York (1966) * ''ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Fourth edition'', compiled for the

, by Jaques Cattell Press, R.R. Bowker, New York (1980) * ''Who's Who in Hollywood'', the largest cast of international film personalities ever assembled, two volumes, by David Ragan, New York: Facts on File, New York (1992) Inline citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Previn, Charles 1888 births 1973 deaths American male conductors (music) American film score composers American male film score composers American music arrangers Jewish American film score composers Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners New York College of Music alumni Cornell University alumni Musicians from Brooklyn Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians Previn family