Walter Kent
Walter Kent (born November 29, 1911 in New York City , † March 2, 1994 in Woodland Hills , Los Angeles , actually: Walter Maurice Kaufman ) was an American composer .
Life
Walter Kent grew up in a Jewish household and enjoyed an extensive education. He was trained in architecture as well as music. He attended Townsend Harris Hall, the Juilliard School on a scholarship, and City College . He also had private lessons with Leopold von Auer and Samuel Gardner . He initially worked as an architect, but soon began to gain a foothold in the music business. His first big hit was Pu-leeze, Mr Hemingway (1932). In New York he had his own orchestra that appeared on television and radio. From 1937 he began to write songs for films , especially for westerns . In 1943 he came to Hollywood as an architect , but continued to write music for various films and theater performances. He took part in Walt Disney's animated film Music, Dance and Rhythm (1948) with three compositions . Other films with his music were Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937), Hitchhike to Happiness (1945), Senorita from the West (1943) and Double Trouble .
Kent was nominated twice for an Oscar : 1945 for Too Much in Love in Song of the Open Road and 1946 for Endlessly in Earl Carroll Vanities . Both times he was nominated together with Kim Gannon . With Gannon he also wrote the songs for the comedic musical drama Hitchhike to Happiness .
His best-known pieces are the Christmas hit I'll Be Home for Christmas , known from the version by Bing Crosby and the war hit (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover , which was sung in the best-known version by Vera Lynn . The Broadway musical Seventeen (1951), for which he composed the music with Gannon and which ran for just six months, was a flop . In 1950 he had two more hits with I'm Gonna Live Till I Die for Frankie Laine (and later Frank Sinatra ) and You're Always in My Dreams for the early doo-wop group The Ravens .
Songs (selection)
- 1932: Pu-Leeze Mister Hemingway ( Guy Lombardo )
- 1941: (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover ( Glenn Miller )
- 1943: I'll Be Home for Christmas ( Bing Crosby )
- 1944: Too Much in Love ( Frank Sinatra )
- 1945: Endlessly
- 1946: Music, Dance and Rhythm (three songs for the episode Johnny Appleseed )
- 1950: I'm Gonna Live Till I Die ( Frankie Laine )
- 1950: You're Always in My Dreams ( The Ravens )
Web links
- Walter Kent in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Dick Vosburgh: Obituary: Walter Kent. The Independent , March 8, 1994, accessed January 25, 2015 .
- ↑ Walter Kent at Allmusic (English). Retrieved January 25, 2015.
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Kent, Walter |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kaufman, Walter Maurice (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 29, 1911 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
DATE OF DEATH | March 2, 1994 |
Place of death | Woodland Hills |