Saul Chaplin

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Saul Chaplin (birth name: Saul Elias Kaplan ; born February 19, 1912 in Brooklyn , New York City , † November 15, 1997 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American successful composer and songwriter , who won three Oscar for best film music and received a Grammy Award .

Life

Success as a composer and songwriter

After attending school, Chaplin studied economics at the School of Commerce and during this time began playing as a pianist in an orchestra in which Sammy Cahn was a violinist . After he became a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1936 , he created several music titles for short films such as I'm Much Obliged (1936). In 1937 he and Cahn acquired the rights to the song Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen by Sholom Secunda and Jacob Jacobs and , after it was fundamentally rewritten, made the well-known jazz composition a world hit through recordings such as for The Famous Carnegie Hall Concert in 1938 . Cahns and Chaplins song "Dedicated To You" was one of the titles on the 1963 jazz album John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman .

Well-known compositions also include songs such as "Rhythm Is Our Business", "Shoe Shine Boy", "Rhythm In My Nursery Rhymes", "Please Be Kind", "If It's the Last Thing I Do", "Joseph, Joseph", "Posin '", "Dedicated to You", "Inspiration", "Tell Me Why", "You Wonderful You" and "Pipes of Pan". His single with the songs "Anniversary Song" and "Avalon", produced with Al Jolson , was the seventh best-selling single in the US in 1947 .

Success as a composer of film music

In 1941 he began working in the Hollywood film industry on music films such as Rookies on Parade , where he worked alongside Cahn with Johnny Mercer and Don Raye . During his career in Hollywood he was involved in the production of nearly 40 films as musical director. In addition, his compositions and songs have appeared in around 140 films.

At the Academy Awards in 1952 , he and Johnny Green won his first Oscar for best music in the musical film An American in Paris (1951). In 1954 he and André Previn received a nomination in this category for the musical film Kiss Me Kate (1953).

In 1955 he won his second Oscar for best film music together with Adolph Deutsch for the musical film A Bride for Seven Brothers (1954). Another nomination for this Oscar came at the 1957 Academy Awards , with Johnny Green for the music film The Top Ten Thousand (1956).

Chaplin had his greatest success with the music for the dance film West Side Story (1961): with Johnny Green, Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal, he received both his third Oscar for “best film music” and a Grammy in the category “ Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Original Cast from Motion Picture or Television ”and was also nominated for a Golden Laurel in the“ Top Musical Score ”category.

Chaplin, whose daughter Judy married theater director and producer Harold Prince , was married to screenwriter Betty Levin from 1968 until his death . In 1985 he was also honored with induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame .

Filmography (selection)

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