Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
and was nominated 45 times, contributing to the extended Newman family being the
most Academy Award-nominated family, with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories.
In a career spanning more than four decades, Newman composed the scores for over 200 motion pictures. Some of his most famous scores include ''
Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...
'', ''
The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', ''
The Mark of Zorro'', ''
How Green Was My Valley'', ''
The Song of Bernadette'', ''
Captain from Castile'', ''
All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...
'', ''
Love is a Many Splendored Thing'', ''
Anastasia
Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe.
Origin
The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...
'', ''
The Diary of Anne Frank'', ''
How The West Was Won'', ''
The Greatest Story Ever Told
''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' is a 1965 American epic film, epic List of religious films, religious film that retells the Biblical account of Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, from the Nativity of Jesus, Nativity through to the Ascension of J ...
'', and his final score, ''
Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
'', all of which were nominated for or won Academy Awards. He is perhaps best known for composing the fanfare which accompanies the studio logo at the beginning of
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
's productions. Prior to commencing his employment with 20th Century Fox, Newman composed the fanfares which are most often associated with
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...
productions and
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...
productions.
Newman was also highly regarded as a conductor, and arranged and conducted many scores by other composers, including
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
,
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
, and
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
. He also conducted the music for many film adaptations of Broadway musicals (having worked on
Broadway for ten years before coming to
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)
* Hollywood ...
), as well as many original Hollywood musicals.
He was among the first musicians to compose and conduct original music during Hollywood's
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...
of movies, later becoming a respected and powerful music director in the history of Hollywood.
[Henderson, Sanya. ''Alex North, Film Composer: A Biography'', McFarland (2003) pp. 43-44] Newman and two of his fellow composers,
Max Steiner
Maximilian Raoul Steiner (10 May 1888 – 28 December 1971) was an Austrian composer and conductor who emigrated to America and became one of cinema of the United States, Hollywood's greatest musical composers.
Steiner was a child prodi ...
and
Dimitri Tiomkin
Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian and American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in Saint Petersburg before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after t ...
, were considered the "three godfathers of film music".
[
]
Early life
Newman was born on March 17, 1900, in New Haven
New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
, Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, the eldest of ten children to Russian-Jewish
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...
parents who emigrated shortly before his birth. Although many sources show a birth year of 1901, musicologist and composer Fred Steiner revealed that Alfred was actually born in 1900. His father, Michael Newman (born Nemorofsky), was a produce
In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, vegetables intended to be Eating, eaten by humans, although other food products such as Dairy product, dairy products or Nut (foo ...
dealer and his mother, Luba (née Koskoff), took care of the family. Her father had been a cantor in Russia, which contributed to her love of music. She sent Newman, her first born, to a local piano teacher to begin lessons when he was five. At one point, in order to take lessons, he walked a ten-mile round trip. With barely enough to live on, his parents once had to sell their dog to make ends meet.
By the age of eight, Newman had become known locally as a piano prodigy. His talent led virtuoso Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; r 1859– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and foreign minister durin ...
to arrange a recital for him in New York, where Sigismund Stojowski and Alexander Lambert, at different periods, took him as a pupil. To save Newman commuting cost, Stojowski convinced a ticket inspector to let young Newman sometimes travel free. Stojowski offered him a scholarship, after which Newman won a silver medal and a gold medal in a competition. He also studied harmony, counterpoint and composition with Rubin Goldmark and George Wedge.
Early jobs as pianist
By the time Newman was 12, however, his parents' meager income was not enough to support his large family, which led to him searching for ways to earn an income from music to help his family.[ He then began playing in theaters and restaurants, including the Strand theater and the Harlem Opera House, with a schedule that often had him playing five shows a day.] During the shows, he typically accompanied singers as pianist. Grace La Rue, star of one of the shows, was taken by Newman's talent and signed him on as her regular accompanist.[
Newman, at 13, also attracted the attention of author ]Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850October 30, 1919) was an American author and poet. Her works include the collection '' Poems of Passion'' and the poem "Solitude", which contains the lines "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you ...
, who wanted to promote him to those who could further his music ambition. She greatly admired his ability to play Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner and other composers, and with equal skill, in her opinion, as Paderewski. She said he "possessed most unusual moral qualities and characteristics":
He began traveling the vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
circuit with La Rue's show when he was 13, where she billed him as "The Marvelous Boy Pianist".[ While on tours, he was sometimes allowed to conduct the orchestras.][ This led to him making conducting his career goal, an ambition furthered by William Merrigan Daly, an experienced music director and composer who taught Newman the basics of conducting.][ By the time he was fifteen, he was regularly conducting performances for matinee shows.][ Cincinnati Symphony conductor ]Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin Reiner (; December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was an American conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to promine ...
was so impressed by Newman, he invited him to be a guest conductor.[
]
Full-time Broadway conductor
When he was nineteen, he began conducting full-time in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the beginning of a ten-year career on Broadway as the conductor of musicals by composers such as George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
, Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...
, and Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...
.[ He conducted '']George White's Scandals
''George White's Scandals'' were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modeled after the ''Ziegfeld Follies''. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W. C. ...
'' in 1919, ''Funny Face
''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny ...
'' in 1927 and '' Treasure Girl'' in 1929. Newman said he was always happiest as a conductor: "I studied music composition and counterpoint because I wanted to be a good conductor."[
In 1930, songwriter and composer ]Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
invited him to Hollywood to conduct his score for the film '' Reaching for the Moon''.[ Although the musical film was originally planned to include songs written by Berlin, problems developed between him and director ]Edmund Goulding
Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwic ...
, which led to most of his songs being taken out. Newman was kept on and received credit for directing the music, which became his Hollywood debut.
Film scoring career
1930s
Soon after Newman arrived in Hollywood in 1930 and finished directing the score for '' Reaching for the Moon'', producer Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...
offered him a contract to continue on as a movie composer. His first complete film score was for Goldwyn's '' Street Scene'' in 1931.[Palmer, Christopher. ''The Composer in Hollywood'', Marion Boyars Publishing (1990)] The score mirrored the busy and frantic sounds of everyday life in New York's Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
in the 1930s.[Hischak, Thomas. ''The Encyclopedia of Film Composers'', Rowman & Littlefield (2015) pp. 485-486] He later used that music theme in other films, such as ''How to Marry a Millionaire
''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by Zoe Akins and '' ...
'' in 1953, which opens with him conducting an orchestra. The theme is also used in ''Gentleman's Agreement
''Gentleman's Agreement'' is a 1947 American drama film based on Laura Z. Hobson's best-selling 1947 novel of the same title. The film is about a journalist (played by Gregory Peck) who pretends to be Jewish to research an exposé on the wid ...
'', '' I Wake Up Screaming'', '' The Dark Corner'', '' Cry of the City'', '' Kiss of Death'', and '' Where the Sidewalk Ends''.
In 1931, Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
hired him to orchestrate his film ''City Lights
''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...
'', and used Newman again for ''Modern Times'' in 1936.["Discovering Chaplin"]
Discoveringchaplin.com, November 29, 2015 Hollywood reporter Sidney Skolsky observed them working together as Newman conducted the 65-piece orchestra.[ He described Newman's ability to carefully synchronize the music to scenes, such as the factory sequence, where Chaplin throws the place into confusion. The music was timed to Chaplin's movements.
Newman became Goldwyn's favorite composer, while his style evolved with each new film he scored.][ He scored numerous adventure stories and romances, historical pageants and swashbuckling epics, as did his contemporary, ]Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (; May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was an Austrian composer and conductor, who fled Europe in the mid-1930s and later adopted US nationality. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential comp ...
.[ Newman also began taking lessons with ]Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
, who emigrated to the U.S. from Europe in 1934. In 1937, Newman organized a private recording of Schoenberg’s four string quartets by the Kolisch Quartet The Kolisch Quartet was a string quartet musical ensemble founded in Vienna, originally (early 1920s) as the New Vienna String Quartet for the performance of Arnold Schoenberg, Schoenberg's works, and (by 1927) settling to the form in which it was l ...
at the United Artists.
He received his first Academy Award for ''Alexander's Ragtime Band
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911; it is often inaccurately cited as his first global hit. Despite its title, the song is a march as opposed to a rag and contains little sync ...
'' in 1938. In 1939, he wrote the music for Goldwyn's ''Wuthering Heights'', starring Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...
and Merle Oberon. His score was unique in the way it included different musical themes and created different motifs for the key actors, which helped frame the action. The theme for Cathy, for instance, consisted of a glowing pastoral with strings, while Heathcliff's theme, in contrast, produced a darker, more serious image.[ Also in 1939, he composed the music for '' Gunga Din'', and '']Beau Geste
''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a r ...
''.
Among Newman's specialties were films with a religious theme, although he himself was not known to be religious.[ Among the films were ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1939), starring ]Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton (; 1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British and American actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play wi ...
, and in subsequent years, ''The Song of Bernadette'' (1943), '' The Robe'' (1953), and ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965).
In 1933, while he was still under contract at United Artists, Newman was commissioned by Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck (; September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. Best known as a co-founder of 20th Century Fox, he played a ...
of Twentieth Century Pictures
Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film, independent Cinema of the United States, Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Za ...
to compose a fanfare
A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets (including fanfare trumpets), French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introdu ...
to accompany the production logo
A production logo, studio logo, vanity card, vanity plate, or vanity logo is a logo used by Film studio, movie studios and television production company, production companies to brand what they produce and to determine the production company an ...
appearing at the start of the studio's films. Twentieth Century Pictures subsequently merged with Fox Film Corporation
The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...
in 1935 to form 20th Century-Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Com ...
; the fanfare and logo were retained, and have continued in use to the present day as one of the most widely recognised film studio logos.
1940s
In 1940, Newman began a 20-year career as music director with 20th Century-Fox Studios, composing over 200 film scores, nine of which won Academy Awards. He wore many hats at the studio depending on the need, acting as composer, arranger, music director and conductor for various films.[ However, he said that he preferred arranging and conducting over composing because the latter was lonely and demanding work. The demands of work contributed to his heavy smoking throughout his life, eventually leading to his ]emphysema
Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema.
Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...
.[Alfred Newman's music style]
''Movie Music'', UK, August 1, 2014
He was noted for developing what came to be known as the Newman System, a means of synchronizing the performance and recording of a musical score with the film, a system which is still in use today.[Henderson, Lol; Stacey, Lee. ''Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century'', (2014) p. 446] Newman's scores were developed around the overall mood of each film. He also tailored specific themes to accompany different characters as they appeared on screen, thereby enhancing each actor's role. The effects of this style of music created a forceful but less jarring score which connected the entire story, thereby keeping the film's theme more easily understood by viewers.[
''The Song of Bernadette'' (1943) is said to be one of Newman's loveliest scores, recorded over a four-week period with an 80-piece orchestra.][ Newman used three different motifs to color different issues during the film. Among them was a brass chorale to represent Mother Church,][ while the theme representing Bernadette used strings to support her character's warmth and tenderness.][ Newman's interpretation added the sound of the wind and blowing leaves to give the music an ethereal quality that augmented Bernadette's visions.][Green, Paul. ''Jennifer Jones: The Life and Films'', McFarland (2011) p. 36]
Newman's score for ''Wilson'' (1944), a biopic about president Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
, required he devote an unusual amount of time to research. The film was intended to be a tribute to Wilson by producer Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck (; September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. Best known as a co-founder of 20th Century Fox, he played a ...
. Newman spent considerable time learning personal details about Wilson and his family, such as the songs they sang and played on their piano at home, the music they liked to dance and listen to, the songs they played during political rallies or political functions during his career. As a result, the film contained some forty realistic American-themed numbers intertwined throughout the film which gave it a strong sense of timeliness.[
In the 1940s, Newman scored a number of films related to ]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 ...
. Among those were '' A Yank in the R.A.F.'' (1941), '' To the Shores of Tripoli'' (1942) and '' Twelve O'Clock High'' (1949), which one historian says is Newman's best dramatic opening theme for a movie.[ Newman also composed or music directed the score to some of ]Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...
's ''Why We Fight
''Why We Fight'' is a series of seven propaganda films produced by the US Department of War from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. It was originally written for American soldiers to help them understand why the United States was involved in the ...
'' series of films, including ''Prelude to War
''Prelude to War'' is the first film of Frank Capra's ''Why We Fight'' film series commissioned by the Office of War Information (OWI) and George C. Marshall. It was made to educate American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis powers du ...
'' (1942) and ''War Comes to America
''War Comes to America'' is the seventh and final film of Frank Capra's ''Why We Fight'' World War II propaganda film series.
Synopsis
The early part of the film is an idealized version of American history, which mentions the first settlements, ...
'' (1945). He created the music for ''The All-Star Bond Rally'' (1945), a documentary short film featuring Hollywood stars promoting the sales of War Bonds. The previous year he scored another documentary, '' The Fighting Lady'' (1944).
He often studied period music and assimilated it into his scores. For films such as ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1941), for example, he incorporated Welsh hymns. For ''How The West Was Won'' (1962), he took folk tunes and transformed them into orchestral/choral works of tremendous power. And for ''The Grapes of Wrath'' (1940), he brought in the folk tune favorite "Red River Valley" throughout the score.[ His skill at incorporating familiar traditional music into modern scores was not limited to Western themes, however. During portions of the score for ''Love is a Many Splendored Thing'', for example, he created numbers with a distinctly Chinese sensibility, both with instruments and melodies. Generally, however, he would create his own original melody and turn it into something haunting and memorable, as he did for ''The Robe'' (1953).][
In 1947, he composed the music for ''Captain from Castile'', which included the famous "Conquest march", an impassioned score for the Spanish conquistadors.][ The march was adapted by the ]University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
(USC) as the official theme song for their sports teams, the USC Trojans
The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...
. Newman also orchestrated and conducted the music for a biopic about the life of American composer John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...
, '' Stars and Stripes Forever'' (1952), a film which includes numerous marches for which Sousa is best known.
The dramatic score for ''The Snake Pit
''The Snake Pit'' is a 1948 American psychological drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick. Based on Mary Jane Ward's 1946 semi-autobiog ...
'', a 1948 film set in a lunatic asylum, was accentuated by Newman's careful use of effects to intensify the discomfort and fear portrayed by the actors, primarily its star Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
.[
]
1950s
In 1952, '' With a Song in My Heart'' gave Newman his fifth Academy Award. It was presented to him by Walt Disney. ''The Robe'' (1953), a New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
epic, was another of Newman's scores with a religious theme, with orchestration creating spaciousness, grandeur and simplicity. The first film in Cinemascope, it featured 4 channel stereo sound, which allowed Newman to experiment in developing the various moods.[ The score was one of fellow composer ]Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include ''Bride of Frankenstein'', ''Rebecca (194 ...
's favorites, and he incorporated some of its themes into his own score for the film's sequel, ''Demetrius and the Gladiators''.[
In 1954, Newman wrote additional music for his 20th Century-Fox fanfare, extending it with several bars of warm, soaring strings in order to promote the studio's adoption of the new ]CinemaScope
CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter.
Its cr ...
presentation. This extended version has remained in use ever since. This fanfare was re-recorded in 1997 by his son David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
, also a composer, and it is this rendition that is used today.
Newman received his eighth Oscar for ''The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...
'' in 1956. In 1959 Newman composed the score for '' The Diary of Anne Frank''. Although based on the true-life tragic story of a young girl during World War II, Newman's score focuses on her optimistic personality, which as her diary attests, she continued to believe that people were good at heart.[ In contrast to Newman's use of uplifting violins and a hopeful old European sound for the girl, the score for the Nazis was an "oppressive march in half time" to create a fearsome effect.][ Music historian Christopher Palmer says that the score is one of Newman's finest, which because of its style, elegance and integrity, the emotions portrayed by the actors can be physically "felt" by the audience.][ It was nominated for an Oscar.
]
1960s
Newman's final musical score under his Fox contract was '' The Best of Everything'' (1959), and after leaving Fox in 1960, Newman freelanced for the remainder of his career, writing the scores for such films as MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
's ''How the West Was Won'' (1962), which some consider his most familiar and best score.[ It is listed on AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores. That score and ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965) were nominated for an Oscar. The last project proved to be a bitter disappointment for Newman, when director ]George Stevens
George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''A Place in the Sun (1951 film), A Place in the Sun'' (1951) ...
extensively re-edited the film and score. Other composers had to help reconstitute musical segments, and Newman's two choral finales were replaced by the familiar "Hallelujah Chorus" of George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
. Newman's longtime associate and choral director, Ken Darby
Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...
, described the experience in ''Hollywood Holyland: The Filming and Scoring of "The Greatest Story Ever Told"'' (Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1992).
Newman remained active until the end of his life, scoring Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
' ''Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
'' (1970) shortly before his death.
Death
Newman died on February 17, 1970, at the age of 69, a month shy of his 70th birthday, at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, from complications of emphysema.
Legacy
During his career, Newman was regarded as one of the most important, most influential and most respected figures in the history of film music.[Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris. editors, ''All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music'', Hal Leonard Corp. (2001) p. 1000] He received an unprecedented 45 Oscar nominations, and his 9 Academy Awards are more than any other musical director or composer had received.[MacDonald, Laurence E. ''The Invisible Art of Film Music: A Comprehensive History'', Scarecrow Press (2013)][McCarty, Clifford. ''Film Composers in America: A Filmography, 1911-1970'', Oxford Univ. Press (2000) p. 6]
His nine Academy Awards are the most received by any musician: ''Alexander's Ragtime Band'' (1938), ''Tin Pan Alley'' (1940), ''The Song of Bernadette'' (1943), ''Mother Wore Tights'' (1947), ''With a Song in My Heart'' (1952), ''Call Me Madam'' (1953), ''Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'' (1955), ''The King and I'' (1956) and ''Camelot'' (1967).[ ''Song of Bernadette'' and ''Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'' are original scores, the latter with extensive use of a theme song by ]Sammy Fain
Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...
. The other films are musical adaptations, a field in which Newman reigned supreme.
He composed the familiar fanfare which accompanies the studio logo at the beginning of 20th Century's productions, and still introduces 20th Century pictures today. A segment of Newman's score for David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...
's ''The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in o ...
'' (1937) became the standard music which accompanied the Selznick International Pictures logo when introducing its films. At the University of Southern California, the 280-seat Allan Hancock Auditorium was renovated and re-dedicated as the Alfred Newman Recital Hall in 1999.[
While a composer, music director and conductor, he often contributed to the scores of others without credit.][ When he wasn't working on a particular movie, he was often approached by studio production heads needing advice, which he freely gave.][ Other musicians were constantly exploring new ideas or perfecting older techniques, which required sharing their knowledge with each other.][ Newman, during his years as a music director, sometimes went further: if one of his composers was stumped for a suitable melody, for instance, Newman would sometimes write a few bars on paper and hand it to the composer, suggesting he try it out.][Faulkner, Robert R. ''Music on Demand'', Transaction Publishers (1983, 2005) p. 4]
As a music director, it was Newman's job to find and select suitable composers for various films. When he saw a composer's potential, he also had the power to sign them to long term staff contracts. Music historian Robert R. Faulkner is of the opinion that had Newman not been music director at Twentieth Century Fox, composers such as 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 ...
, Alex North
Alex North (born Isadore Soifer; December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer best known for his many film scores, including ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (one of the first jazz-based film scores), '' Viva Zapata!'', ''Spartac ...
, and David Raksin
David Raksin (August 4, 1912 – August 9, 2004) was an American composer who was noted for his work in film and television. Raksin had more than 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit. Some sources called him the "Grandfather of ...
, all of whose music was somewhat radical, might never have had such major careers in Hollywood.[
In 1999, the ]United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
issued a stamp in his honor.
Partial filmography
Between 1930 and 1970, Alfred Newman wrote music for over 200 films of every imaginable type, including a score for the newsreel made from 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 ...
footage of the Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...
.List of music scores by Alfred Newman
IMDB
In addition to his own film scores, Newman acted as musical director on numerous other films. Among his major film scores (and adaptations of other composers' scores) are:
* 1930 – ''Whoopee!
''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy play with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered o ...
''
* 1931 – ''City Lights
''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...
'' (musical director) (music by Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
)
* 1931 – '' Indiscreet'' (musical director)
* 1931 – '' Street Scene''
* 1933 – '' The Masquerader''
* 1936 – '' Dodsworth''
* 1936 – ''Born to Dance
''Born to Dance'' is a 1936 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Eleanor Powell, James Stewart and Virginia Bruce. It was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter.
Plot
Wh ...
'' (musical director; Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...
wrote the songs)
* 1937 – '' You Only Live Once''
* 1937 – '' The Hurricane'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1937 – ''The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in o ...
'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1938 – ''Alexander's Ragtime Band
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911; it is often inaccurately cited as his first global hit. Despite its title, the song is a march as opposed to a rag and contains little sync ...
'' (Academy Award) (adaptation, the songs were by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...
)
* 1939 – '' The Rains Came''
* 1939 – '' Gunga Din''
* 1939 – ''Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...
'' (Academy Award nomination for best musical score)
* 1939 – '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1940 – '' Vigil in the Night''
* 1940 – '' Foreign Correspondent''
* 1940 – '' Broadway Melody of 1940'' (musical director; again, Cole Porter wrote the songs)
* 1940 – '' The Mark of Zorro'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1940 – ''Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...
'' (Academy Award) (adaptation; the film used old popular songs such as ''The Sheik of Araby'')
* 1941 – '' How Green Was My Valley'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1942 – ''Roxie Hart
Roxanne "Roxie" Hart is a fictional character. She is the main character of the 1926 play ''Chicago'' and its various remakes and derivatives.
Development
The playwright, reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, was inspired by the trials, both of which ...
''
* 1942 – '' The Black Swan''
* 1942 – '' The Pied Piper''
* 1943 – '' The Song of Bernadette'' (Academy Award)
* 1943 – ''My Friend Flicka
''My Friend Flicka'' is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his mustang horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by ''Thunderhead'' (1943) and ''Green Grass of Wyoming'' (1946). The ...
''
* 1943 - '' The Moon Is Down
* 1944 – ''The Keys of the Kingdom
''The Keys of the Kingdom'' is a 1941 in literature, 1941 novel by A. J. Cronin. Spanning six decades, it tells the story of Father Francis Chisholm, an unconventional Scottish Catholic priest who struggles to establish a mission (Christian), ...
'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1945 – ''State Fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...
'' (adaptation only; this was the musical version by Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...
) (Academy Award nomination for Best Adaptation of a Musical Score)
* 1947 – '' Captain from Castile'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1947 – '' Mother Wore Tights'' (adaptation) (Academy Award)
* 1947 – ''Gentleman's Agreement
''Gentleman's Agreement'' is a 1947 American drama film based on Laura Z. Hobson's best-selling 1947 novel of the same title. The film is about a journalist (played by Gregory Peck) who pretends to be Jewish to research an exposé on the wid ...
''
* 1947 – '' The Shocking Miss Pilgrim''
* 1947 – ''Miracle on 34th Street
''Miracle on 34th Street'' (initially released as ''The Big Heart'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1947 American Christmas film, Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century-Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story ...
''
* 1948 – '' Cry of the City''
* 1948 – ''The Snake Pit
''The Snake Pit'' is a 1948 American psychological drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick. Based on Mary Jane Ward's 1946 semi-autobiog ...
''
* 1948 – ''That Lady in Ermine
''That Lady in Ermine'' is a 1948 American Technicolor musical film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay by Samson Raphaelson is based on the 1919 operetta ''Die Frau im Hermelin'' by Rudolph Schanzer and Ernst Welisch.
Although Lubitsc ...
''
* 1948 – '' The Iron Curtain''
* 1949 – '' Twelve O'Clock High''
* 1949 – '' Chicken Every Sunday''
* 1949 – '' Pinky''
* 1950 – ''All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...
'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1950 – '' Panic in the Streets''
* 1950 – '' The Big Lift''
* 1951 – '' David and Bathsheba'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1952 – ''The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in o ...
''
* 1952 – '' With a Song in My Heart'' (adaptation only; this musical contained songs by several composers, but Newman was not one of them) (Academy Award)
* 1953 – ''How to Marry a Millionaire
''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by Zoe Akins and '' ...
'' (Alfred Newman appears conducting an orchestra in the prologue. The music is from ''Street Scene''.)
* 1953 – '' The Robe''
* 1953 – '' Call Me Madam'' (adaptation; the songs were by Irving Berlin) (Academy Award)
* 1955 – '' A Man Called Peter''
* 1955 – '' Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'' (Academy Award)
* 1955 – ''The Seven Year Itch
''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay with George Axelrod. Based on Axelrod's 1952 The Seven Year Itch (play), play of the same name, the film stars Marilyn Monroe ...
''
* 1956 – ''Anastasia
Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe.
Origin
The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...
''
* 1956 – ''Carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...
'' (adaptation, the songs were by Rodgers and Hammerstein)
* 1956 – ''The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...
'' (adaptation; the songs were by Rodgers and Hammerstein) (Academy Award)
* 1957 – '' April Love'' (adaptation)
* 1958 – '' South Pacific'' (Conductor; the songs were by Rodgers and Hammerstein)
* 1958 – '' A Certain Smile''
* 1959 – '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1961 – ''Flower Drum Song
''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...
'' (adaptation; the songs were again by Rodgers and Hammerstein)
* 1962 – ''The Counterfeit Traitor
''The Counterfeit Traitor'' is a 1962 espionage thriller film starring William Holden, Hugh Griffith, and Lilli Palmer. Holden plays the Swedish-American oil executive Eric Erickson, who is forced to spy on the Nazis in World War II. It was b ...
''
* 1962 – ''State Fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...
'' (remake of musical version) (adaptation only; the songs were again by Rodgers and Hammerstein, with additional songs by Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...
only)
* 1962 – '' How the West Was Won'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1965 – ''The Greatest Story Ever Told
''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' is a 1965 American epic film, epic List of religious films, religious film that retells the Biblical account of Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, from the Nativity of Jesus, Nativity through to the Ascension of J ...
'' (Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score)
* 1966 – '' Nevada Smith''
* 1967 – ''Camelot
Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...
'' (adaptation; the songs were by Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, and later Burton Lane, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre bot ...
and Frederick Loewe
Frederick Loewe ( ; born Friedrich "Fritz" Löwe, ; June 10, 1901 – February 14, 1988 ) (Academy Award)
* 1968 – ''Firecreek
''Firecreek'' is a 1968 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Vincent McEveety and starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda, the latter in his first of two roles that year as a villain (the second being Sergio Leone's ''Once Upon a ...
''
* 1970 – ''Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
''
Awards
Newman won nine Academy Awards, the third highest number of Oscars ever won by an individual (Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
won twenty-six, Cedric Gibbons
Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an American Art director#In film, art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons de ...
won eleven) and was nominated for forty-five, making him the most nominated composer in Oscar history until 2011, when John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
broke the record. Forty-three of Newman's nominations were for Best Original Score (making him the second most nominated in that category after John Williams) and two were for Original Song.
The American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
ranked his score for ''How the West Was Won'' as 25 on their list of the 25 greatest film scores. Ten of Newman's other scores were also nominated:
* ''Wuthering Heights'' (1939)
* ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1939)
* ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1941)
* ''The Song of Bernadette'' (1943)
* ''Captain from Castile'' (1947)
* ''All About Eve'' (1950)
* ''The Robe'' (1953)
* ''Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'' (1955)
* ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965)
* ''Airport'' (1970)
Newman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
at 1700 Vine Street
Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, and Melrose Avenue. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine being symbolic of Hollywood itself. The intersection has be ...
.
Newman family
He married Martha Louise Montgomery (born December 5, 1920, Clarksdale, Mississippi
Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19t ...
- died May 9, 2005, Pacific Palisades, California
Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of downtown Los Angeles. Throughout January 2025, the majority of Pacific Palisades was severely affec ...
), a former actress and Goldwyn Girl; they had five children.
He was the head of a family of major 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)
* Hollywood ...
film composers:
* His brother Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman (January 4, 1916 – February 3, 1989) was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He won the Academy Award for Best Score of a Musical Picture for '' Hello Dolly!'' with Lennie Hayton in 1969. He ...
scored three dozen films and several TV series, adapting and conducting scores for hundreds of other films; he succeeded Alfred as Fox's music director.
* His brother Emil Newman was music director for over eighty films.
* His son David Newman has scored nearly one hundred films, including '' The War of the Roses'', '' Hoffa'', '' The Nutty Professor'', ''Anastasia
Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe.
Origin
The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...
'', ''Galaxy Quest
''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American satirical science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mit ...
'', ''Ice Age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
'', and '' Serenity'', and has received an Academy Award nomination.
* His son Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is best known for his film scores, earning accolades of six Grammy Award, Grammy Awards, an Emmy Awards, Emmy Award, two British Academy F ...
has scored over seventy-five films, including ''Little Women
''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...
'', ''The Shawshank Redemption
''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American Prison film, prison Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. The film t ...
'', '' Unstrung Heroes'', '' American Beauty'', '' Road to Perdition'', ''Finding Nemo
''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...
'', '' Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'', '' The Good German'', ''WALL-E
''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American animated Romance film, romantic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, produced b ...
'', ''Skyfall
''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy thriller film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, ...
'', '' Saving Mr. Banks'' and has received fifteen Academy Award nominations.
* His daughter Maria Newman is an eminent musician and composer.
* His nephew Randy Newman
Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
is a two-time Academy Award winner, noted not only for his film work but also for a series of popular albums as a singer/songwriter.
* His grandnephew Joey Newman has scored many TV series, films, and video games.
* His granddaughter Jaclyn Newman is a music editor, and won a Golden Reel Award for '' 30 Days of Night: Dark Days'', and has received additional nominations for ''Burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. '' and '' Nashville (2012 TV series)''.
* His wife, Martha Montgomery Newman, two years after being widowed, married film composer Robert O. Ragland, to whom she remained married for 33 years until her death.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
Alfred Newman
at Soundtrackguide.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Alfred
1900 births
1970 deaths
20th-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American male musicians
20th Century Studios people
American film score composers
American male conductors (music)
American male film score composers
American music arrangers
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Articles containing video clips
Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Classical musicians from Connecticut
Concert band composers
Deaths from emphysema
Grammy Award winners
Jewish American classical composers
Jewish American film score composers
Mercury Records artists
MGM Records artists
Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut
Alfred
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interlu ...
American vaudeville performers
Warner Records artists
Writers from New Haven, Connecticut