Irving Gertz (May 19, 1915 – November 14, 2008) was an American composer recognized for his compositions for many fantasy and horror B-movies and TV series of the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Gertz was born on May 19, 1915, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and played the clarinet, piano, string bass and tuba as a youth, and attended the Providence College of Music. Gertz studied composition privately with composer and music theorist

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter ...

. He was hired by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

in 1938, but left to serve in the

United States Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing Military communications, communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was ...

during

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 ...

. After his military service, he studied with composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

Filmography

Amongst his most recognized works are the music for the westerns ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

'' (1955) and '' Badman's Country'' (1958), and many horror films (often uncredited), such as '' The Alligator People'' (1959), '' Curse of the Undead'' (1959) and '' The Leech Woman'' (1960). His later film scores included '' Hell Bent for Leather'' (1960), '' Young Jesse James'' (1960), ''

Marines, Let's Go ''Marines, Let's Go'' is a 1961 CinemaScope DeLuxe Color Korean War film about three Marine buddies ( Tom Tryon, David Hedison and Tom Reese) on shore leave in Japan and at war in Korea. It was produced and directed by Raoul Walsh, who also wro ...

'' (1961), '' The Fiercest Heart'' (1961), '' He Rides Tall'' (1964), '' Fluffy'' (1965) and '' Nobody's Perfect'' (1968). In addition to his work with film, Gertz also worked on the popular 20th Century Fox TV series ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

'', '' Land of the Giants'' and ''

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' is a 1961 American science fiction disaster film, produced and directed by Irwin Allen, and starring Walter Pidgeon and Robert Sterling. The supporting cast includes Peter Lorre, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden ...

''. He also worked on a single

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

cartoon ''Daffy Rents'' in 1966, filling in for regular composer

William Lava William "Bill" Benjamin Lava (March 18, 1911 – February 20, 1971) was a composer and arranger who composed and conducted music for feature films as well as Warner Bros.' ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' animated cartoons from 1962 to ...

Retirement

Gertz retired from film and television scoring in 1968.

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20120229032829/http://www.allvoices.com/people/Irving_Gertz American male composers 1915 births 2008 deaths Jewish American composers Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island United States Army soldiers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-composer-20thC-stub