Nathan Scott (May 11, 1915 – February 27, 2010) 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 ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

composer. He composed,

conducted 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 dutie ...

arranged 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 orchestr ...

and

orchestrated Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

more than 850 separate credits in television, as well as the music for more than 100 films. His credits in television included ''

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another ...

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television program, television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dysto ...

'' and '' Dragnet'', while his film credits included the film score for ''

Wake of the Red Witch ''Wake of the Red Witch'' is a 1948 American adventure film directed by Edward Ludwig, produced by Edmund Grainger and starring John Wayne, Gail Russell, Gig Young, Adele Mara and Luther Adler. It is based upon the 1946 novel of the same name ...

''.

Biography

Early life

Scott was born in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area ...

. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in music from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1939. He began working in radio broadcasting after graduation.

Career

Scott was named the West Coast

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

for

Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Com ...

, which was owned by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

, in 1942. However, he was soon drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, where wrote music and played the

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

for the Air Transport Command Band, based in Long Beach, California. He later

shows on the

Armed Forces Radio Service The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

such as '' Command Performance''. Following the end of World War II, Scott was hired by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City a ...

as a staff composer for six years, beginning in 1946. He composed, conducted or orchestrated "dozens" of

s for Republic Pictures, including '' Heart of the Rockies'' and ''

'', starring John Wayne. Though much of his career would focus on scoring for television, his later

film credits Two types of credits are traditionally used in films, television programs, and video games, all of which provide attribution to the staff involved in their productions. While opening credits will usually display only the major positions in a p ...

at other

film studios A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

included MGM's 1961 ''

X-15 The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed ...

'' and ''

Montana Belle ''Montana Belle'' is a 1952 American Trucolor Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Jane Russell. It is one of several fictionalized movies about outlaw Belle Starr. The story is set in Oklahoma, where the real Starr was killed. The ...

'', which was released by

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

in 1953. Scott left Republic Pictures in 1952. Beginning in the early 1950s, Scott spent most of his career composing for television. Starting in 1952, Scott orchestrated and

music for '' Dragnets original composer,

Walter Schumann Walter Schumann (October 8, 1913 – August 21, 1958) was an American composer for film, television, and the theater. His notable works include the score for '' The Night of the Hunter'' and the ''Dragnet'' Theme; the latter of which earned Sc ...

. Scott did the arrangements for all ''Dragnet'' episodes, until the show's

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...

in 1959. Scott also composed the score for approximately six ''Dragnet'' episodes. Scott wrote the theme music for the 1964 dramatic series, ''

Slattery's People ''Slattery's People'' is a 1964–65 American television series about local politics starring Richard Crenna as title character James Slattery, a state legislator, co-starring Ed Asner and Tol Avery, and featuring Carroll O'Connor and Warren O ...

'', which aired during the 1964-1965

television season A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

. He also worked on the '' Twilight Zone'' for two episodes, scoring the music for '' A Stop at Willoughby'' in 1960. In 1963, Scott began working on the classic television series, ''

''. He scored virtually all the episodes of ''Lassie'' (except for 4) until the show ended its run in 1974. His 1950s and 1960s television credits included episodes of ''

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

'', ''

Steve Canyon ''Steve Canyon'' is an American adventure comic strip by writer-artist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, '' Terry and the Pirates'', ''Steve Canyon'' ran from January 13, 1947, until June 4, 1988. It ...

'', '' The Untouchables'', '' Rawhide'' and ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

''. Scott orchestrated for a number of other prominent television and film composers beginning in the 1970s, including

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

on ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

'', his son Tom Scott in '' Hanky Panky'' and Stu Phillips for ''

The Fall Guy ''The Fall Guy'' is an American action/ adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who ...

'' and '' Battlestar Galactica''. Nathan Scott died of natural causes at his home in

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

, California, on February 27, 2010, at the age of 94. He was survived by his son,

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Tom Scott; his second wife, Frances McCune Scott; his daughter, Linda Colley; his brother and two grandchildren. His first wife, Margery, died in 1995.

Selected filmography

* ''

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

'' (1947) * '' Angel on the Amazon'' (1948) * ''

'' (1948) * ''

Train to Alcatraz ''Train to Alcatraz'' is a 1948 American prison film directed by Philip Ford and starring Don Barry, Janet Martin, William Phipps, Roy Barcroft, and June Storey. Plot Criminals on a train bound for an infamous supermax prison plan to escape, ...

'' (1948) * '' The Red Menace'' (1949) * ''

The Kid from Cleveland ''The Kid from Cleveland'' is a 1949 sports drama film starring George Brent, Lynn Bari and Russ Tamblyn, directed by Herbert Kline, and released by Republic Pictures. The real-life Indians had just won the 1948 World Series, and many of the te ...

'' (1949) * '' The Golden Stallion'' (1949) * ''

Singing Guns ''Singing Guns'' is a 1950 American Trucolor Western film directed by R. G. Springsteen and starring Vaughn Monroe. The film features three songs by Monroe. " Mule Train", one of the songs featured in this 1950 Republic Western and sung by Vau ...

'' (1950) * ''

California Passage ''California Passage'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane starring Forrest Tucker, Adele Mara and Estelita Rodriguez.Pitts, p. 52. Plot Cast * Forrest Tucker as Mike Prescott * Adele Mara as Beth Martin * Estelita Rodri ...

'' (1950) * '' The Avengers'' (1950) * '' Lady Possessed'' (1952) * ''

'' (1952) * ''

Hoodlum Empire ''Hoodlum Empire'' is a 1952 American film noir crime film directed by Joseph Kane starring Brian Donlevy, Claire Trevor, Forrest Tucker, Vera Ralston, Luther Adler and John Russell.. It was inspired by the Kefauver Committee hearings dealing ...

'' (1952) * '' Oklahoma Annie'' (1952)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Nathan 1915 births 2010 deaths American film score composers American male film score composers American television composers University of California, Berkeley alumni United States Army personnel of World War II People from Salinas, California Musicians from Los Angeles