Walter Schumann (October 8, 1913 – August 21, 1958) was an

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 ...

for

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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 the

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. His notable works include the score for '' The Night of the Hunter'' and the ''Dragnet'' Theme; the latter of which earned Schumann the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition in 1955. His Broadway musical, '' 3 for Tonight'', won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical in 1955.

Career

Schumann was born in

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in 1913. By the early 1930s, he was attending law school at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

when he abruptly quit his studies to perform in a college dance band. Eventually, the members of the band went their separate ways but Schumann continued on within the music industry, working with

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

on Cantor's radio show, and recording with Andre Kostelanetz. Following the outbreak of

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 ...

, Schumann enlisted, eventually becoming the musical director of the Armed Forces Radio Service. He worked with most of the major acts of the war on all the radio shows AFRS produced during this time. After the war, he returned to Los Angeles and worked in the movie and television industry as a composer and arranger, mostly on several Abbott & Costello films. In 1949, Schumann was asked to compose a new theme for a police detective show about to make its debut on the NBC Radio network. He began his theme with a four-note motif—quite possibly the second most famous four-note motif after Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. ''Dragnet'' became a smash hit on the radio, and then television and Schumann's theme quickly became instantly recognizable. He wrote one

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 ...

, ''John Brown's Body'', which premiered in Los Angeles in 1953 and subsequently ran for sixty-five performances on Broadway at the New Century Theatre. This was followed by the musical revue '' 3 for Tonight'' which premiered on Broadway in 1955 in a production directed by and starring Gower Champion. It won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical in 1955. Around this time, Schumann gathered together 20 talented vocalists and ''The Voices Of Walter Schumann'' was born. The ensemble recorded several easy-listening albums, similar to those recorded by Jackie Gleason, for both

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and RCA Victor. By 1955, Schumann was busy composing and conducting the score to the classic Robert Mitchum film '' The Night of the Hunter'' and won an

Emmy 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 catego ...

for his wildly popular ''Dragnet'' theme. He recorded a space-age themed, spoken-word album titled ''Exploring the Unknown'', and his "Voices" troupe recorded a popular, 19-track Christmas album, ''The Voices of Christmas''. The latter album was reissued on

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by Collector's Choice Music in November 2007 – 52 years after its initial debut both as an LP and 3-record 45 RPM set. There was a tribute to him on the centennial anniversary of his birth.Centennial Birthday Tribute to Walter Schumann
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Death

In 1956 and 1957 Schumann continued to record with the Voices and they appeared on the first season of NBC's '' The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford''. However, by the summer of 1958, poor health prompted Schumann to be admitted to the

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, where he underwent one of the first open heart surgeries in the United States. Complications arose following the operation, and Schumann died on August 21, 1958, aged 44, just weeks before the third season of '' The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'' was scheduled to begin. Members of Schumann's "Voices" ensemble were stunned by his sudden death but decided to continue performing. They were renamed "The Top Twenty," and they carried on with Ford for another five years.

References

External links

* *
Walter Schumann Papers
are archived at the American Heritage Center,

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schumann, Walter American film score composers American male film score composers American opera composers Broadway composers and lyricists American male opera composers 1913 births 1958 deaths Composers from New York City USC Gould School of Law alumni 20th-century American classical musicians 20th-century American classical composers Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians