Adolph German

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Adolph Deutsch (born October 20, 1897 in London , † January 1, 1980 in Palm Desert , California ) was a British-American composer of symphonic jazz and film music .

Life

Adolph Deutsch - who was often wrongly referred to as a German or Austrian or even a sympathizer of Adolf Hitler because of his name - lived for the first 13 years of his life in England, where he received piano lessons at the age of five . In 1905 the eight-year-old was accepted into the Royal Academy of Music . In 1910, Deutsch's family emigrated to the United States, where he was granted US citizenship in 1920.

Deutsch, who was a fan of the conductors Thomas Beecham and Arturo Toscanini , came into contact with the music style jazz through Paul Whiteman and worked as a composer for his radio and concert programs in the 1920s. In the 1930s he changed genre and was responsible as an orchestrator for several musicals that are still known today , including George Gershwin's Pardon my English and Irving Berlin's Thousand Chers .

Hollywood producer Mervyn LeRoy engaged Deutsch with Warner Bros. in 1937 and helped the composer to write his first film - the drama They Won't Forget - that same year . Deutsch initially stayed with Warner Bros. and wrote the soundtracks for over 50 films by 1946. After a two-year excursion into the world of radio, where he musically accompanied the show This Is Hollywood hosted by Hedda Hopper from 1946 to 1947 , Deutsch signed a contract with MGM in 1948 . However, after that, Deutsch received only a few commissions, although his third from last film, Some Like It Hot , filmed in 1959 by director Billy Wilder , was probably still his most famous soundtrack today. His five Oscar nominations also fall during this period , with three awards. Deutsch was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 1961 for the film Das Appartement .

Adolph Deutsch withdrew into private life from the early 1960s. All that is known about his private life is that he was married to a woman named Hermina Selz. He died of heart failure on New Year's Day 1980 at the age of 82 .

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Oscar / Best Score

Won
Nominated
  • 1952: Mississippi Melody (together with: Conrad Salinger )
  • 1954: The Band Waggon

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