Jeff Alexander (born Myer Goodhue Alexander; July 2, 1910 – December 23, 1989) was an American conductor,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, and

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 ...

of film, radio and television scores.

Early years

Born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, Alexander began performing in his teens as a singer and dancer in

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 ...

productions. He then began playing piano and composing

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

music.

Radio

In 1939, he moved to New York City, where he arranged and composed music for radio programs, including

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

's ''

Camel Caravan A camel train, caravan, or camel string is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withst ...

'' (as "Myer Alexander"), "The Lucky Strike Show" and "

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' was an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago then later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio sho ...

". He directed the orchestra for ''Songs of George Byron'', ''Arthur's Place'', ''Thirty Minutes to Play'', '' The Bill Goodwin Show'', and the ''Borden Show''. He directed the chorus for ''The Star Theater'', ''Great Moments in Music'' and (billed as Myer Alexander) the Goodman program. His Goodman group was called "the world's only Swing Chorus".

Career

Film

In 1947, he moved to Los Angeles and began writing film and, later, television scores. His first film project was the score for ''

Shall We Dance Shall We Dance may refer to: Films * ''Shall We Dance'' (1937 film), a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical * ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996 film), a Japanese film about ballroom dancing * ''Shall We Dance?'' (2004 film), an American remake of the ...

'', and he scored many of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's films, including '' Jailhouse Rock'' (1957), '' Kid Galahad'' (1962), '' Double Trouble'' (1967), '' Clambake'' (1967) and ''

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

'' (1968). He also composed the scores to over 30 films, including '' The Tender Trap'' (1955), '' Ransom!'' (1956), '' The Wings of Eagles'' (1957), '' The Sheepman'' (1958), '' Party Girl'' (1958), '' Ask Any Girl'' (1959), '' The Mating Game'' (1959), '' The Gazebo'' (1959), '' All the Fine Young Cannibals'' (1960), ''

The George Raft Story ''The George Raft Story'' is a 1961 American biographical film directed by Joseph M. Newman that stars Ray Danton as Hollywood film star George Raft. The picture was retitled ''Spin of a Coin'' for release in the United Kingdom, a reference to R ...

'' (1961), '' The Rounders'' (1965), '' Day of the Evil Gun'' (1968), '' Support Your Local Sheriff!'' (1969) and '' Dirty Dingus Magee'' (1970).

Television

Alexander's many television credits include being musical director for '' Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' and music for ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempt ...

'', ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'', '' The Mothers-In-Law'', '' Julia'', and ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

''. He wrote the song " Come Wander With Me" for an episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' in 1964; it was later used in the 2003 film '' The Brown Bunny''.

Compositions

Although credited to Axel Stordahl, it was Alexander who arranged " The House I Live In" for

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, recorded in 1945. In 1956, Alexander contributed the tone poems "Yellow" and "Brown" to the album '' Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color''. He also composed a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

and other classical pieces.

Other

In 1944, Alexander and Lyn Murray, along with business manager Eugene Loewenthal, formed Murray-Alexander Associates in New York City. The business provided vocal groups, orchestras, and arrangements. Alexander was a founder of the organization Screen Composers of America.

Death

Alexander died of cancer, aged 79, at his home in Whidbey Island, Washington on December 23, 1989. He was survived by his daughter, Jill.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Jeff 1910 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American film score composers American music arrangers American television composers Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Imperial Records artists American male film score composers American male television composers Musicians from Seattle 20th-century American male musicians