Buddy Baker
|
---|
Birth name
| Norman Dale Baker
|
---|
Born
| (
1918-01-04
)
January 4, 1918
Springfield, Missouri
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| July 26, 2002
(2002-07-26)
(aged 84)
Hollywood
, California
|
---|
Genres
| Soundtrack
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Composer
|
---|
Years active
| 1934?2001
|
---|
Musical artist
Norman Dale
"
Buddy
"
Baker
(January 4, 1918 ? July 26, 2002) was an American
composer
who scored many Disney films, including
The Apple Dumpling Gang
in 1975,
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again
in 1979,
The Shaggy D.A.
in 1976,
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
in 1977, and
The Fox and the Hound
in 1981.
[1]
He also composed scores for Disney theme park attractions, including
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
and
The Haunted Mansion
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Baker was born and raised in
Springfield, Missouri
, and got his degree in music from
Southwest Baptist College
. He moved to the
West Coast
in the 1930s to arrange music scores for radio, and became the musical director for
Bob Hope
's radio show.
Career
[
edit
]
One of Baker's first hits as a
big band
arranger was "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" for the
Stan Kenton Orchestra
. He later became a professor at
L.A. City College
in the early 1950s. Among his early students were film composer
Jerry Goldsmith
and jazz drummer
Louis Bellson
, with whom he composed and arranged
Journey Into Love
(Norgran, 1954).
[2]
At about this time, his friend
George Bruns
asked him to compose music for the Disney television show
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
. He stayed on at the
Disney
studio, and eventually became its music director, as well as chief composer for
Disneyland
and other Disney theme parks.
Baker was nominated for an
Academy Award
for his score for the 1972 film
Napoleon and Samantha
. His work is heard in many Disney cartoons and featurettes, including
Donald in Mathmagic Land
, which was nominated for a 1959
Academy Award
(Best Documentary - Short Subjects). In 1978, he composed the music for the first
Walt Disney Home Video
logo, known as the "Neon Mickey" logo?a loud string and brass fanfare with a piano and timpani beats.
Baker arranged and conducted most of the
Winnie-the-Pooh
musical
featurettes. He also conducted the music for
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh theme park attractions
in 1999, at age 81.
The eerie music heard throughout
The Haunted Mansion
at Disneyland was another of Baker's works, as was the infectious theme to Walt Disney World's
If You Had Wings
. He arranged the medley of French classical music that accompanies the film
Impressions de France
at
EPCOT Center
, which artfully integrates works by
Camille Saint-Saens
,
Claude Debussy
and
Erik Satie
, among others. He also wrote the music for the
Tokyo DisneySea
theme park attraction
Journey to the Center of the Earth
, which opened in 2001.
Baker was named a "
Disney Legend
" in 1989. He has an honorary
Main Street window
over the Car Barn at
Disneyland Park
, which reads: "Plaza School of Music - Sheet Music ? B. Baker."
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
In 1998, Baker was inducted as a
Disney Legend
. Baker also received the honor of having his name appear on
Main Street, U.S.A.
windows
at the
Magic Kingdom
. The window, which can be found above the Car Barn reads: Plaza School of Music - Sheet Music?-Baker.
Later years and death
[
edit
]
Baker retired from Disney as the last staff composer still on contract at any studio. Although he occasionally returned to work on theme park, film and television projects, he spent most of his later years teaching film scoring at the
USC Thornton School of Music
in
Los Angeles
, where he remained until his death from natural causes at age 84 in 2002. He was interred at
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery
. In 2004, his wife Charlotte donated his papers to the
Fales Library
at
New York University
.
Selected filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
1990
| |
---|
1991
| |
---|
1992
| |
---|
1993
| |
---|
1994
| |
---|
1995
| |
---|
1996
| |
---|
1997
|
- Lucien Ades*
- Angel Angelopoulos*
- Antonio Bertini
- Armand Bigle
- Gaudenzio Capelli
- Roberto de Leonardis
*
- Cyril Edgar*
- Wally Feignoux*
- Didier Fouret
- Mario Gentilini*
- Cyril James*
- Horst Koblischek
- Gunnar Mansson
- Arnoldo Mondadori
*
- Armand Palivoda*
- Poul Brahe Pedersen*
- Joe Potter
*
- Andre Vanneste*
- Paul Winkler
*
|
---|
1998
| |
---|
1999
| |
---|
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|