American composer (1912?2004)
David Raksin
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Born
| (
1912-08-04
)
August 4, 1912
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Died
| August 9, 2004
(2004-08-09)
(aged 92)
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Occupation
| Film composer
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Notable work
| Laura
(1944)
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David Raksin
(August 4, 1912 ? August 9, 2004)
[1]
was an American composer who was noted for his work in film and television. With more than 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music.".
[2]
Biography
[
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]
David Raksin was born in
Philadelphia
,
Pennsylvania
, United States,
[1]
to Jewish parents (of Russian heritage). His father was an orchestra conductor. Raksin played professionally in dance bands while attending
Central High School of Philadelphia
. He went on to study composition with
Harl McDonald
at the
University of Pennsylvania
,
[1]
and later with
Isadore Freed
in New York and
Arnold Schoenberg
in Los Angeles. In New York, Raksin worked as an arranger for Harms/Chappell.
[1]
One of his earliest film assignments was as assistant to
Charlie Chaplin
in the composition of the score for
Modern Times
(1936).
[1]
He is perhaps best remembered for his score for
Laura
(1944).
[1]
The theme music for "
Laura
", with lyrics by
Johnny Mercer
, became a major hit.
[1]
During Raksin's lifetime, "Laura" was reportedly the second most-recorded song in history after "
Stardust
" by
Hoagy Carmichael
and
Mitchell Parish
.
Raksin's theme song, "The Bad and the Beautiful" (also called "Love is For the Very Young") for the 1953 film
The Bad and the Beautiful
(1953) was also a hit,
[3]
although not as popular as "Laura". Raksin insisted that the song be released as an instrumental, because he had resented having to split the proceeds from "Laura" with a lyricist. Raksin's theme for "The Bad and the Beautiful" was initially disliked by the film's director
Vincente Minnelli
and producer
John Houseman
, but was saved from rejection by the intervention of
Adolph Green
and
Betty Comden
, who both liked it. The theme has since been praised by
Stephen Sondheim
,
Leonard Rosenman
,
Richard Rodney Bennett
, and
Alexander Courage
. Sondheim reportedly called it "one of the best themes ever written in films."
[4]
Raksin also scored the 1958 film
Separate Tables
, for which he earned an
Academy Award
nomination.
[3]
In the 1960s, Raksin wrote the theme for (and scored the pilot of) the
medical drama
television series
Ben Casey
. Later in life, Raksin taught at the
University of Southern California
and the
University of California, Los Angeles
.
Raksin died in 2004, aged 92.
[1]
At the time of his death, it was announced that Raksin had completed his autobiography, titled
If I Say So Myself
.
[5]
The book was eventually published under the title
The Bad and the Beautiful: My Life in a Golden Age of Film Music
.
In 2012, he was named for a Lifetime Achievement Award for a Past Film Composer.
[6]
His son Alex is a
Pulitzer Prize
-winning
editorial
writer for the
Los Angeles Times
.
[7]
Select film and TV scores
[
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]
Work on Broadway
[
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]
See also
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"David Raskin"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
October 6,
2021
.
- ^
OBITUARY: David Raksin, 92, Grandfather of Film Music
Archived
2007-09-30 at the
Wayback Machine
Published: August 11, 2004
- ^
a
b
Colin Larkin
, ed. (1992).
The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music
(First ed.).
Guinness Publishing
. p. 2036.
ISBN
0-85112-939-0
.
- ^
Harmetz, Aljean (August 11, 2004). "David Raksin, the Composer of 'Laura,' is Dead at 92".
The New York Times
. pp. C13.
ProQuest
92788629
.
According to a 1998 interview with Mr. Raksin done for a "Live From Lincoln Center" broadcast on PBS, Stephen Sondheim considered the composer's theme for 'The Bad and the Beautiful' (1952) to be 'one of the most beautiful themes ever written in films.'
- ^
"David Raksin Dead at 92"
. The Film Music Society. 2004.
.
- ^
"Sammy Film Music Awards for 2011"
. Archived from
the original
on 2014-01-06
. Retrieved
2012-02-24
.
- ^
Schott & Co. Ltd. recorder score RMS 850 (1957)
External links
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Interviews
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]
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1970s
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1990s
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2000s
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2010s
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2020s
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Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.
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