Charles Paul (August 23, 1902, 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 ...

– September 18, 1990, in

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...

) was an American composer and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, most known for his musical accompaniment on radio and television. Originally providing musical accompaniment to such

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

programs as ''

The Adventures of Ellery Queen ''The Adventures of Ellery Queen'' is the title of two separate television series made in the 1950s. They are based on the fictional detective Ellery Queen and the cases he solves with his father Inspector Richard Queen. ''The Adventures of Ell ...

'' and ''

Young Doctor Malone ''Young Doctor Malone'' is an American soap opera, created by Irna Phillips, which had a long run on radio and television from 1939 to 1963. The producer was Betty Corday (1912–1987), who also produced '' Pepper Young's Family'' and later wa ...

'', he transitioned to television in the 1950s. His music accentuated the TV version of ''

Martin Kane, Private Eye ''Martin Kane, Private Eye'' is an American crime drama radio programming, radio and television series sponsored by United States Tobacco Company. It aired via radio from 1949 to 1952 and was simultaneously a television series on NBC from 1949 to ...

'' with an organ and horn combo. His first known

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

was ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation '' Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ...

'' which he began accompanying in 1953. In 1954 he added ''

The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas '' Search for Tomorrow'' and '' Love of Life''. ...

'' and the short-lived '' The Road of Life'' to his duties. By this time Paul had perfected a style that favored the organ, but was often coupled with piano for more intense scenes. On ''The Secret Storm'' Paul began his practice of using "leitmotif" themes to underscore specific characters, such as his tune for matriarch Grace Tyrell (

Marjorie Gateson Marjorie Augusta Gateson (January 17, 1891 – April 17, 1977) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Gateson was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Augusta and Daniel Gateson. Her maternal grandfather and brother were clergymen; Some s ...

) and his lament for her daughter Pauline Harris (

Haila Stoddard Haila Stoddard (November 14, 1913 – February 21, 2011) was an American actress, producer, writer and director.Weber, Bruce (February 25, 2011)Haila Stoddard, Actress and Producer, Dies at 97.''New York Times''; accessed April 20, 2014. During ...

). Paul continued this practice on ''Love of Life'' and his successive soaps. It was in 1956 that Charles Paul began a stint as the organist for television's first thirty-minute soap opera, ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

''. Paul created character themes for Nancy Hughes (

Helen Wagner Helen Losee Wagner (September 3, 1918 – May 1, 2010) was an American actress.HEVESI, DENNIS (May 3, 2010). "Helen Wagner, Longtime Actress on 'As the World Turns,' Dies at 91". ''New York Times''. Retrieved August 13, 2014. Born in Lubbo ...

), Pa Hughes (

Santos Ortega Santos Edward Ortega (June 30, 1899 – April 10, 1976) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for playing Will Hughes in ''As the World Turns'', taking over from Will Lee, who had played the role from the first episode on April 2, ...

) and Lisa (

Eileen Fulton Eileen Fulton (born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty; September 13, 1933) is an American actress, singer, and author. She is known for her television role as Lisa Grimaldi on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'', which she played almost continuo ...

). He wrote motifs for opening scene shots that identified settings, such as Memorial Hospital and the Lowell, Barnes, Lowell & Hughes law firm. Paul also wrote the first theme song for NBC's '' Another World'' which was handled by other organists. Though he was not named in the credits, Paul provided the original scores to headwriter Agnes Nixon's ABC hits ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'' and ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' under the auspices of Aeolus Productions. In the summer of 1969, many behind-the-scenes shifts occurred at CBS soaps. As a result, Paul lost ''

'', maintained his positions at ''

'' and ''

'', and assumed the keyboard duties at longtime favorite ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

''. By the early 1970s, however, times were changing. Paul soon lost ''

'' but transitioned both ''

'' and ''

'' to orchestral arrangements. He would later do likewise for NBC's relatively short-lived ''

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

'', ABC's successful ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'', and the last year of CBS's ''

'' after ten years' absence from that series. In 2009, Soapluvva established a YouTube tribute channel to both Charles Paul and Eddie Layton, who were colleagues of each other at the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan.

References

External links

* 1902 births 1990 deaths American keyboardists 20th-century American musicians {{US-keyboardist-stub