Morton Stevens
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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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
s in 1970 and 1974, and was a gold record for
The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...
. Stevens was taught by
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-winning composer
Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...
, with whom he frequently collaborated on other projects.


Biography

Stevens graduated from the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
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, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...
, and was musical director for the "
Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of singers that, in its second iteration, ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, s ...
" tour featuring Davis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and—after Martin quit—
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...
. 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, ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'' and '' Police Woman''. 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), '' The Horror at 37,000 Feet'' (1973), '' The Disappearance of Flight 412'' (1974), '' Code Name: Diamond Head'' (1977), ''
Wheels A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn 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 axl ...
'' (1978), '' The One Man Jury'' (1978), ''Women in White'' (1979), '' Great White'' (1982) '' They Still Call Me Bruce'' (1987), ''
Act of Piracy ''Act of Piracy'' is a 1988 American–South African thriller film directed by John "Bud" Cardos and starring Gary Busey, Belinda Bauer, Ray Sharkey and Nancy Mulford. Busey and Bauer play a separated couple who must reunite to free their chi ...
'' (1988) and the
Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...
films '' Hardly Working'' (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 ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...
", 1964–1967, collaborating on the series with
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 ...
s
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 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, Frank Comstock, and Lyn Murray. 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 peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to b ...
(from 1966 to 1978) and late night (from 1972 to 1985) movie broadcasts. Stevens died of
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
in Encino, California at the age of 62.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Morton 1929 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American classical musicians 20th-century American male musicians American film score composers 20th-century American Jews American television composers Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series) Juilliard School alumni American male film score composers American male television composers Musicians from Newark, New Jersey