Leo F. Forbstein

Leo F. Forbstein (born October 16, 1892 in St. Louis , † February 12, 1948 in Los Angeles ) was an American conductor , musical director and Oscar winner .

Life

Forbstein learned the violin at the age of four and during the silent film era worked as a conductor in cinemas, including at Grauman's Egyptian Theater . With the start of talkies in the late 1920s, he became one of the directors of the Warner Brothers ' newly created orchestra , which recorded the film music for their publications. Over a period of almost 20 years Forbstein was involved in a total of over 600 films. The films for which Forbstein conducted the soundtrack include great classics such as Robin Hood, King of the Vagabonds (1938), The Trace of the Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), Arsenic and Lace Cap (1944), Dead Sleeping Stuck (1946) ), Cocktail for a Corpse (1948) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

Together with the film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold , Forbstein received an Oscar in the category “Best Film Music” in 1937 for his performance in the historical literary film adaptation A restless life . He received further Oscar nominations for his work on the films Unter Piratenflagge (1935), The Treason of Surat Khan (1936) and The Life of Emile Zola (1937).

Leo F. Forbstein was married to Bessie Gallas from 1914 until his death. They had a daughter. He died of a heart attack at the age of 55.