Paul Dunlap (July 19, 1919 – March 11, 2010) was an American

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 ...

. He wrote music for over 200 films during his 30-year career. He is best known for his work with Western movies.

Early life

William Paul Dunlap was born to William P. and Janice P. Dunlap in 1919. He was born in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...

. He studied with

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

, and

Ernst Toch Ernst Toch (; 7 December 1887 – 1 October 1964) was an Austrian composer of European classical music and film scores, who from 1933 worked as an émigré in Paris, London and New York. He sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches t ...

. He wanted to be a concert hall or opera composer; however, there was a greater opportunity to build a career as a composer in the film industry. When he was 31 years old, Dunlap left for

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

to begin his career.

Career

Dunlap's film career began in 1950 when he scored ''

The Baron of Arizona ''The Baron of Arizona'' is a 1950 American independent Western film directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Vincent Price and Ellen Drew. The film concerns a master forger's attempted use of false documents to lay claim to the territory of Ar ...

''. This was a

Sam Fuller Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and actor. He was known for directing low-budget genre movies with controversial themes, often made outside t ...

film, and led to Dunlap producing other scores for his movies like ''

The Naked Kiss ''The Naked Kiss'' is a 1964 American neo-noir melodrama film written and directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante and Virginia Grey. It was Fuller's second film for Allied Artists after his 1963 f ...

'' and ''

Shock Corridor ''Shock Corridor'' is a 1963 American psychological thriller film starring Peter Breck, Constance Towers, and Gene Evans. Written, directed and produced by Samuel Fuller, it tells the story of a journalist who gets himself intentionally commit ...

.'' During the 1950s and 60s, Dunlap also wrote music for low-budget films in the horror and sci-fi genres. Dunlap wrote the

score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

s for as more than 200 films and

television program 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 Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

s throughout his career. These included several

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

feature films, including ''

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules ''The Three Stooges Meet Hercules'' is a 1962 American comedy fantasy film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the third feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Ho ...

'', ''

The Three Stooges in Orbit ''The Three Stooges In Orbit'' is a 1962 American comedy film, comedy science fiction film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the fourth feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio cons ...

'', ''

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze ''The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze'' is the fifth feature film made by The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita (dubbed "Curly Joe"). D ...

'' and ''

The Outlaws Is Coming ''The Outlaws Is Coming'' (stylized as ''The Outlaws IS Coming!'') is the sixth and final theatrical comedy feature film starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry ...

''. Dunlap also scored the last

Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...

film ''

Dance With Me, Henry ''Dance with Me, Henry'' is a 1956 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton and starring Abbott and Costello and Gigi Perreau. It is the final film that they starred in together, although Costello starred in one more film before his de ...

'' as well. Dunlap is also known for his scores for numerous genre-films including ''

I Was a Teenage Werewolf ''I Was a Teenage Werewolf'' is a 1957 American science fiction horror film directed by Gene Fowler Jr., and starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager, Yvonne Lime, and Whit Bissell. Co-written and produced by cult film producer Herma ...

'', ''

I Was a Teenage Frankenstein ''I Was a Teenage Frankenstein'' (U.K. title: ''Teenage Frankenstein'') is a horror film starring Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates and Gary Conway, released by American International Pictures (AIP) in November 1957 as a double feature with '' Blo ...

'', ''

Blood of Dracula ''Blood of Dracula'' (also known as ''Blood Is My Heritage'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1957 American black-and-white horror film directed by Herbert L. Strock, and starring Sandra Harrison, Louise Lewis and Gail Ganley. It was co-written by Ab ...

'', and ''

The Angry Red Planet ''The Angry Red Planet'' (also called ''Invasion of Mars'' and ''Journey to Planet Four'') is a 1959 American science-fiction film directed by Ib Melchior and starring Gerald Mohr. Melchior reportedly had an initial production budget of only $ ...

''. His career spanned three decades and he contributed as musical director, musical supervisor, and orchestrator. He wrote soundtracks for several movies by Harold D. Schuster. Dunlap also worked on many

B movies A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, ...

during his career and was recognized for his Western scores. Throughout his life, Dunlap did not forget his love of classical music. He wrote piano concertos and choral music after his retirement from Hollywood films in 1968. In his later life, he wrote an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. He composed again for movies, however, when he wrote the music for ''

Gorp Trail mix is a type of snack mix, typically a combination of granola, dried fruit, nuts, and sometimes candy, developed as food to be taken along on hikes. Trail mix is a popular snack food for hikes, because it is lightweight, easy to sto ...

'' which was produced in 1980.

Death

Dunlap died of natural causes on March 11, 2010, in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

Selected filmography

References

External links

*
Paul Dunlap in ''Epdlp''Paul Dunlap papers, MSS 2292
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

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 ...

1919 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists American male composers American male pianists 20th-century male pianists {{US-composer-20thC-stub