Rudolph Polk (25 November 1892

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

– 16 June 1957

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, ...

) was an American concert violinist based in New York City during his early years and, during his later years, a Hollywood film director, film industry executive, and artist manager for

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

José Iturbi José Iturbi Báguena (Valencia, 28 November 1895 Los Angeles, 28 June 1980) was a conductor, pianist, harpsichordist and actor from Valencia, Spain. He also appeared in several Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical films including ''Thousands Cheer'' (1 ...

, and

Gregor Piatigorsky Gregor Piatigorsky (, ''Grigoriy Pavlovich Pyatigorskiy''; August 6, 1976) was a Russian-born American cello, cellist. Biography Early life Gregor Piatigorsky was born in Dnipro, Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine) into a Jewish family. As a c ...

. In Hollywood, Polk was the assistant musical director to

Morris Stoloff Morris W. Stoloff (August 1, 1898 – April 16, 1980) was an American composer. He worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore, Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra. Life and career Stoloff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A child prodigy on the vi ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Polk was musical director for Enterprise Studios. Polk was family friends with Jacob Previn, father of

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

and

Steve Previn Stephen Wolf Previn (born Wolf Stefan Priwin; 21 October 1925 – 9 July 1993) was a German-born United States, American director of television episodes and feature films and film production executive. Previn began his film career in 1943 as an ed ...

Musical training

Polk graduated from the

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

in Berlin where he studied violin with

Henri Marteau Henri Marteau (31 March 1874 – 3 October 1934) was a French violinist and composer. Life and career Marteau's debut was made when he was 10 at a concert given by the Vienna Philharmonic Society conducted by Hans Richter. A tour through Switze ...

. He performed many times with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

in the Early 1920s. He also toured with

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɨˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; 12 April 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voic ...

(and his longtime piano accompanyist, Fyodor Keneman) in the United States. Polk also studied composition with

Paul Juon Paul Juon (, ''Pavel Fyodorovich Yuon''; 6 March 1872 – 21 August 1940) was a Russian-born Swiss composer. Life Juon was born in Moscow, where his father was an insurance official. His parents were Swiss, and he attended a German primary school ...

Filmography

As music supervisor * ''

They Shall Have Music ''They Shall Have Music'' is a 1939 musical film directed by Archie Mayo and starring famed violinist Jascha Heifetz (as himself), Joel McCrea, Andrea Leeds, and Gene Reynolds. The screenplay concerns a young runaway who finds his purpose in life ...

'',

(as himself) (1939) (Polk is uncredited) As musical director * '' Body and Soul'', Enterprise Productions, Inc. (1947) * ''The Other Love'' (1947) * ''

Ramrod A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloader, muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was u ...

'' (1947) * ''

Arch of Triumph Arch of Triumph may refer to: * Triumphal arch, a monumental structure in the shape of an arch Structures * Arc de Triomf, an 1888 structure in Barcelona, Spain * Arc de Triomphe, an 1836 structure in the Place Charles de Gaulle, Paris, France * ...

,'' Enterprise Productions, Inc. (1948) * ''

Four Faces West ''Four Faces West'' is a 1948 American Western film starring Joel McCrea, his real-life wife Frances Dee, and Charles Bickford. It is based on the novel ''Pasó por aquí'' by Eugene Manlove Rhodes. Its plot concerns a down-on-his-luck cowboy ...

'', Enterprise Studios (1948) * ''

No Minor Vices ''No Minor Vices'' is a 1948 American black-and-white comedy film written by Arnold Manoff and directed by Lewis Milestone with Robert Aldrich as 1st assistant director. Created for David Loew's Enterprise Productions, it was the first of thre ...

'' (1948) * ''

Caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the catch ...

'', Enterprise Productions, Inc. (1949) * ''A Kiss for Corliss'' (1949) As songwriter * ''

,'' Enterprise Productions, Inc. (1948) : Song: ''Long After Tonight'', music by Rudolph Polk, words by

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(Polk is uncredited in the film) As producer * ''Adventures in Music'', Artist Films, Inc. (documentary) (1944) * ''Of Men and Music'' (documentary) (1951) * ''

Jan Peerce Jan Peerce (born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth; June 3, 1904 December 15, 1984) was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recording artist. He is ...

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United S ...

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia ...

'', produced by Rudolph Polk and Bernard Luber; director,

Irving Reis Irving Reis (May 7, 1906 in New York City – July 3, 1953 in Woodland Hills, California) was a radio program producer and director, and a film director. Biography Irving Reis was born into a Jewish family. Reis began his career as a motion pi ...

; writer, Harry Hurnitz As film scorer * ''

The Private Affairs of Bel Ami ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1947) : Polk was borrowed from Enterprise Studios to score the film * ''

Force of Evil ''Force of Evil'' is a 1948 American film noir starring John Garfield and Beatrice Pearson and directed by Abraham Polonsky. It was adapted by Polonsky and Ira Wolfert from Wolfert's novel ''Tucker's People''. Polonsky had been a screenwrit ...

Television

As producer * '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952 series)

Family

Rudolph married Pauline ''née'' Stone (1896–1986) in Manhattan, New York, on Mar 16, 1919. They had two children, Peter and Martha (Hamilton).

Posthumous memorial scholarship

and

helped fund the posthumous Rudolph Polk Memorial Scholarship at

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private university, private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)� ...

References

General references * ''Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 4: September 1955 – August 1958,''

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, New York (1960) * ''Obituaries on File,'' Two volumes, compiled by Felice D. Levy (1917–1990),

Facts on File Infobase is an American publishing company, publisher of databases, reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent ...

, New York (1979) Inline citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Rudolph American male violinists Musicians from New York City Berlin University of the Arts alumni 1892 births 1957 deaths 20th-century American violinists Film directors from New York City 20th-century American male musicians