Victor Young Composer -
Born August 8, 1900 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died November 10, 1956 in Palm Springs, California, USA (cerebral hemorrhage and stroke)
Mini Bio (1) Violinist and conductor Victor Young was a prolific composer and arranger, who worked on more than 300 film scores over a period of twenty years. He came from an impoverished, but musical background and was trained on the violin at the Warsaw Imperial Conservatory, later studying piano in Paris under the French master Isidor Philipp. A prodigious talent, Young made his professional debut as a teenager with the Warsaw Philharmonic. However, World War I intervened, and he spent several months interned in a prison facility in Russia. Somehow, he was able to escape. By 1920, he had found his way to the United States and resumed work as a violinist with the Central Park Casino Orchestra in Chicago. He also diversified as an arranger and conductor for radio and the theatre. His first connection with the film industry came about, when he secured a position as assistant director with the Balaban and Katz cinema chain, writing and arranging as many as five (silent) film scores a week.
During the late 1920's, Young was back as musical director for 'Harvest of Stars' on radio, and as a talent scout for Edison Records. He briefly arranged for bandleader Ted Fio Rito before fronting his own orchestra in 1935, backed by a recording deal with Decca. He worked with many of the great vocalists of the period, including Judy Garland, Lee Wiley and The Boswell Sisters. His high profile brought him to the attention of Paramount, where he was signed to a one-year contract in 1936. He worked for the studio again between 1940 and 1949, but, by that time, his reputation had become so formidable that he came to be regarded as the pre-eminent film composer, and assigned the lion's share of A-grade features. His music subtly and seamlessly integrated into dramas like Reap the Wild Wind (1942), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), So Evil My Love (1948), John Ford's The Quiet Man (1952) and the western classic Shane (1953).
Young also wrote countless evergreen songs, many for top-flight singers, like Bing Crosby. His first big hit was "Sweet Sue" (popularly recorded by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra), followed by the melodic jazz standard "Stella by Starlight" (which served as the theme for The Uninvited (1944)) and the ballad "When I Fall in Love" (a huge hit for Nat 'King' Cole, who featured the song in the movie Istanbul (1957)). For Broadway, Young wrote both music and lyrics for "Seventh Heaven", in 1955. Nominated for a staggering 22 Academy Awards, Young had his only win (for Around the World in 80 Days (1956)), rather sadly, after his sudden death from a stroke at the age of 56. It has been suggested, that his film compositions, while polished, lacked the élan or authoritative stamp of a Max Steiner or a Bernard Herrmann. Nonetheless, the sheer volume and enduring popularity of Young's music ensure his immortality among the ranks of the great songwriters and film composers of the 20th century.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: I.S.Mowis
Spouse Rita Kinel (20 April 1922 - 10 November 1956) his death
Between 1939 and 1940, he recorded the first album of songs from The Wizard of Oz (1939) for Decca Records, a 20-minute 78-RPM set of eight of the songs. It eventually appeared on LP. The album featured Judy Garland with the Ken Darby Singers, but none of the film's other actors. It included "The Jitterbug", which had been cut from the film, but omitted "If I Were King of the Forest". It continued to sell into the late 1950s, but was eventually supplanted in the 1960s by MGM's 1956 45-minute LP taken directly from the soundtrack of the movie, which had been released to coincide with the film's first telecast.
Holds the record for most Oscar nominations received before winning an Academy Award. He received his 21st and 22nd nominations for the 29th Awards (calendar year 1956), for the music of the title song for Written on the Wind (1956) and the score for the Best Picture winner, Around the World in 80 Days (1956). He won for his score. Unfortunately, he died in November 1956, so his final triumph was posthumous.
He is one of two film composers to have received four Oscar nominations in the same year, the other being Alfred Newman. Young achieved it twice, once in 1940 (the same year as Newman) and second time the next year, 1941.
He composed the music for many of Cecil B. DeMille's sound films.
He worked frequently on films starring John Wayne, including two of his biggest hits, Reap the Wild Wind (1942) and The Quiet Man (1952).
Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6363 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
During his violinist career as a teenager, he performed in Saint Petersburg at a concert in which Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was present. The Tsar was so impressed with Young's performance that he invited him to perform privately for him and the Russian royal family.
Began performing solo violin with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of fifteen.
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