Emil Newman (January 20, 1911 – August 30, 1984) was an American music director and conductor who worked on more than 200 films and TV series. He was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for his musical direction on the classic ''

Sun Valley Serenade ''Sun Valley Serenade'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features the Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by the Nichol ...

'' (1941), contributing to the Newman's being the most nominated Academy Award extended family, with a collective 95 nominations in various music categories.

Biography

A native of

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. ...

, Newman entered films in 1940 as the musical director on 13 films. He was credited on 25 films in 1941 and 28 in 1942, one of which, '' Whispering Ghosts'', contained his first (uncredited) contribution as a composer. He had 15 titles in 1943, including "Musical Direction" (screen credit) for the all-black musical '' Stormy Weather'' and the

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 ...

wartime film '' Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas'', 19 in 1944, 17 in 1945 and 16 in 1946, including Hugo Friedhofer's

Academy Award 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 ...

score for ''

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 ...

'', which he also conducted. Between 1950 and 1965, Newman was the composer on 23 films, most of which were lower-budget

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

s, although they also included prestigious pictures such as '' Hondo'' (1953). He also provided the music for numerous 1950s TV shows. Newman died in Woodland Hills, a suburb of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Family connections, marriage and children

Emil Newman's older brother was renowned film composer

Alfred Newman Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, 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 Acad ...

(1901–1970), whose children Maria,

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 ...

and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

are also composers. His younger brother was another famous film composer,

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 ...

(1916–1989), whose grandson

Joey Newman Joey Newman (born September 9, 1976) is an American film composer, orchestrator, arranger and conductor working in the fields of film and television. Early life, family and education Newman is a third generation film composer, born into a musi ...

is a film and TV composer. Another brother, Irving, was the father of still another acclaimed film musical personality, songwriter and composer

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 ...

. His brother Marc Newman was a film agent representing some of Hollywoods most noted composers including John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Dave Grusin and Marvin Hamlisch. His brother Robert V. Newman was a studio executive and former President of John Wayne's Batjac Productions. Their family is of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent.MacDonald, Laurence E. ''The Invisible Art of Film Music: A Comprehensive History'', Scarecrow Press (2013) Newman was married to bit-part actress Eva May Hoffman aka Eve Farrell. They had two children, daughter Arleen (born 1939) and son William Robert (born August 14, 1937). William Robert Newman is the father of Jill Newman, Sarah Devries, William Marcus and Jaice Newman. The offspring of Arleen Newman and

Dennis Crosby Dennis Michael Crosby (July 13, 1934 – May 4, 1991) was an American singer and occasional actor, the son of singer and actor Bing Crosby and his first wife Dixie Lee, and twin brother of Phillip Crosby. He was the father of '' Star Trek TNG ...

(son of

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

) are Erin Colleen Crosby and Kelly Lee Crosby. Dennis also adopted Katherine Denise Buelle, Arleen's daughter by her first husband Mike Buelle.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Emil 1911 births 1984 deaths Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut Jewish American film score composers Emil 20th-century American composers American music arrangers American film score composers American male conductors (music) Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American conductors (music) American male film score composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th Century Studios people