John Leonard Strauss (April 28, 1920 – February 14, 2011) was an American television and

film composer A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

and

music editor The term music editor may refer to one of several occupations. In publishing, a music editor is a person who prepares music manuscripts for publication. The use of music editors began at the onset of music publishing in Europe in the late 15th cent ...

. Strauss co-wrote the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City Po ...

'', with

Nat Hiken Nathan Hiken (June 23, 1914 – December 7, 1968) was an American radio and television writer, producer, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1950s. Early years Hiken was born on June 23, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Jewish p ...

. He also won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for his work as the producer of the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for the 1984 film, ''

Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: People and fictional characters * Amadeus (name) Amadeus is a theophoric name, theophoric given name derived from the Latin words ' – the Imperative mood, imperative of the word ' ("to love") – and ' ("god"). As a Compou ...

''. He also frequently collaborated with director

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

in his films, including ''

Take the Money and Run Take the Money and Run may refer to: Songs * "Take the Money and Run" (Bunny Walters song), 1972 * "Take the Money and Run", by Crosby & Nash from ''Wind on the Water'', 1975 * "Take the Money and Run" (Steve Miller Band song), 1976 * "Take the M ...

'' in 1969 and '' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)'' in 1972.

Biography

Strauss was born 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 ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in both

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 ...

. He studied at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

with

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

following the end of the war. In addition to co-writing the theme song for the TV sitcom ''Car 54, Where Are You?'', Strauss won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

in sound editing for his work on the 1978

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

, ''

The Amazing Howard Hughes ''The Amazing Howard Hughes'' is a 1977 American made-for-television biographical film about American aviation pioneer and filmmaker Howard Hughes, based on the book ''Howard: The Amazing Mr. Hughes'' by Hughes' business partner Noah Dietrich. ...

''. He also wrote the theme song for ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on the CBS Television Network from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes wer ...

''. Strauss appeared briefly as an

orchestra conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties o ...

in the film ''Amadeus''.

Personal life

Strauss married actress

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned sixty-six years. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-o ...

on November 4, 1951, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1976 when he came out as bisexual. The couple had two sons, Larry and Andrew. Strauss' partner, Lionel Friedman, died in 2003. A longtime resident 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, ...

, Strauss died in that city on February 14, 2011, of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, at the age of 90.

References

External links

*
''New York in Ten Hours'' for two pianos, by John Strauss
at YouTube (performed by Strauss and Jascha Zayde)
John Strauss files on publicity for James Stewart
MSS 2152, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, John 1920 births 2011 deaths American bisexual men American bisexual musicians American film score composers American LGBTQ composers American male film score composers Bisexual composers Bisexual male musicians Deaths from Parkinson's disease in California Grammy Award winners LGBTQ film score composers Musicians from Los Angeles Primetime Emmy Award winners United States Army personnel of World War II