Nathan Lang Van Cleave (May 8, 1910 – July 3, 1970) was a composer and orchestrator for

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

. He usually used "Van" as his first name.

Biography

Born in Bayfield,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, he played with big bands, including Doc Fenton and his Sooners and Al Katz and his Kittens. He moved to

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 ...

where he led his own band (the Van Cleave Orchestra) in the early 1930s, then played trumpet and arranged music for

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Nagasaki", "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "South ...

's orchestra. In 1933, he married Doris Blumenfeld, a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

chorus girl and the child of

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 ...

actors of the German Blumenfeld circus family. He studied music with noted composer and music theorist

Joseph Schillinger Joseph Moiseyevich Schillinger (; (other sources: ) – 23 March 1943) was a composer, music theorist, and music composition, composition teacher who originated the Schillinger System of Musical Composition. He was born in Kharkiv, Kharkov, in the ...

. He worked in

, as a staff arranger for

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

(1938–39),

Andre Kostelanetz Andre Kostelanetz (; December 22, 1901 – January 13, 1980) was a Russian-American popular orchestral music conductor and arranger who was one of the major exponents of popular orchestra music. Biography Abram Naumovich Kostelyanetz was born ...

Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, choral director, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to ...

, and for CBS Radio.Rayno, Don. ''Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2012, p. 492. He invented new record needles with improved sound, and founded the Duotone company, which manufactured needles. In 1945, Van Cleave moved to

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, ...

to pursue his musical career. His

credits, as composer and orchestrator, include ''

Cinerama Holiday ''Cinerama Holiday'' is a 1955 film shot in Cinerama. Structured as a criss-cross travel documentary, it shows an American couple (John and Betty Marsh) traveling in Europe and a Swiss couple ( Fred Troller and Beatrice Troller) traveling in the ...

'', ''

The Colossus of New York ''The Colossus of New York'' is a 1958 American science fiction film from Paramount Pictures, produced by William Alland, directed by Eugène Lourié, that stars Ross Martin, Otto Kruger, John Baragrey, Mala Powers, Robert Hutton, and Charles Her ...

'', ''

Easter Parade The Easter parade is an American cultural event consisting of a festive strolling procession on Easter Sunday. Typically, it is a somewhat informal and unorganized event, with or without religious significance. Persons participating in an East ...

'', ''

Funny Face ''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny ...

'', ''

Robinson Crusoe on Mars ''Robinson Crusoe on Mars'' is a 1964 American science fiction film directed by Byron Haskin and produced by Aubrey Schenck that stars Paul Mantee, Victor Lundin, and Adam West. It is a science fiction retelling of the classic 1719 novel ''Rob ...

'', ''

In Search of the Castaways ''In Search of the Castaways'' () is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–68. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains illustrations by Édouard Riou. In 1876, it was republished by George Routledge & Son ...

'' and '' White Christmas''. He composed the ''

VistaVision VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format that was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954. Paramount did not use anamorphic processes such as CinemaScope but refined the ...

'' Fanfare to accompany the opening of theatre curtains to the wide screen format. In addition, he worked on many TV episodes of ''

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 ''

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 ...

'', where he pioneered the use of the

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...

in television scores. In the ''

'' episode "The Quest for Asa Janin," the last episode of season 8, from June 1963, with music by Van Cleave, the five-note main theme used throughout 1964's ''

'' can be heard several times.

References

External links

*
Nathan Van Cleave papers at the American Heritage Center of the University of WyomingNathan Van Cleave at Soundtrack, the Cinemascore & Soundtrack Archives
Retrieved 19 September 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Cleave, Nathan 1970 deaths 1910 births People from Bayfield, Wisconsin American bandleaders American television composers American film score composers American male film score composers American music arrangers 20th-century American composers Musicians from Wisconsin 20th-century American male musicians