Morton Stevens (January 30, 1929 – November 11, 1991) was an American

film score 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 ...

composer. In 1965, he became director of music for CBS West Coast operations. He is probably best known for composing the theme music for '' Hawaii Five-O'', a CBS television series for which he won two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s in 1970 and 1974. Stevens was taught by

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning composer

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franch ...

, with whom he frequently collaborated on other projects.

Biography

Stevens graduated from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...

in 1950, and within a few years began working as an arranger/conductor for Sammy Davis Jr. After Davis's longtime conductor, George Rhodes, died in 1985, Stevens was among those who filled that role again sporadically until Davis' death in 1990. In his later years, Stevens worked as conductor for other Vegas legends, including

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in pop culture, Lewis was nickn ...

, and was musical director for the "

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" tour featuring Davis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and—after Martin quit—

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. His classic theme for '' Hawaii Five-O'' was later re-recorded for the remake of the television series in 2010. He won two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for his work on ''Hawaii Five-O'' and was nominated seven other times for work on television programs, including the 1969 ''Hawaii Five-O'' pilot episode, ''

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'' and ''

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''. His film work included scores for films and TV movies such as '' Wild and Wonderful'' (1964), '' The Spy with My Face'' (1965), '' Deadly Harvest'' (1972), '' The Strangers in 7A'' (1972), ''

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'' (1973), '' The Disappearance of Flight 412'' (1974), '' Code Name: Diamond Head'' (1977), ''

Wheels A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

'' (1978), ''

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'' (1978), ''Women in White'' (1979), ''

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'' (1982) '' They Still Call Me Bruce'' (1987), '' Act of Piracy'' (1988) and the

films ''

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'' (1980), '' Slapstick of Another Kind'' (1982) and '' Cracking Up'' (1983). In addition to " Hawaii Five-O", Stevens worked on the earlier smash 1960s CBS Television series dealing with an island of a different kind: " Gilligan's Island", 1964-1967, collaborating on the series with composers

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

, Gerald Fried,

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, and

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. A musical cue by Stevens from ''Hawaii Five-O'' was adapted into the introductory music used to accompany the logo for CBS specials from 1973 to 1991. Stevens also composed "So Old, So Young", used as the theme music (in two separate arrangements) for CBS'

primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

(from 1966 to 1978) and late night (from 1972 to 1985) movie broadcasts. Stevens died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

in Encino, California at the age of 62.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Morton 1929 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American male musicians American film score composers 20th-century American Jews American television composers Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from pancreatic cancer Hawaii Five-O Juilliard School alumni American male film score composers Male television composers Musicians from Newark, New Jersey