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Alex North (December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
  composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 responsible for the first jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
-based film score
Film score

A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film, which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film. The term Soundtrack is often confused with film score, though a soundtrack may also include songs featured in the film as well as previously released music by other artists, while the score does...
 (A Streetcar Named Desire) and one of the first modernist
Modernism

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century....
 scores written in Hollywood, (Viva Zapata!
Viva Zapata!

Viva Zapata! is a 1952 in film biographical film directed by Elia Kazan. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using as a guide Edgcomb Pinchon's book, 'Zapata the Unconquerable', a fact that is not credited in the titles of the film....
).

Born Isadore Soifer in Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with a population of 36,854 at the 2000 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware....
, North was an original composer probably even by the classical music standards of the day. However, he managed to integrate his modernism
Modernism

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century....
 into typical film music leitmotif structure, rich with themes.






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Alex North (December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
  composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 responsible for the first jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
-based film score
Film score

A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film, which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film. The term Soundtrack is often confused with film score, though a soundtrack may also include songs featured in the film as well as previously released music by other artists, while the score does...
 (A Streetcar Named Desire) and one of the first modernist
Modernism

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century....
 scores written in Hollywood, (Viva Zapata!
Viva Zapata!

Viva Zapata! is a 1952 in film biographical film directed by Elia Kazan. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using as a guide Edgcomb Pinchon's book, 'Zapata the Unconquerable', a fact that is not credited in the titles of the film....
).

Born Isadore Soifer in Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with a population of 36,854 at the 2000 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware....
, North was an original composer probably even by the classical music standards of the day. However, he managed to integrate his modernism
Modernism

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century....
 into typical film music leitmotif structure, rich with themes. One of these became the famous song, "Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody

"Unchained Melody" is a popular song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It is one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
". Nominated for 14 Oscars
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
 but unsuccessful each time, North and Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone, Italian orders of merit#Order of Merit of the Republic is an acclaimed List of Italian composers Academy Award-winning composer....
 are the only film composers to receive the Lifetime Achievement Academy Award
Academy Honorary Award

The Academy Honorary Award, instituted in 1948 in film for the 21st Academy Awards , is given by the discretion of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences#Current administration of the Academy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards....
. North's frequent collaborator as orchestrator was the avant-garde composer Henry Brant
Henry Brant

Henry Brant was a California-based composer of art music based on spatialization and aleatoric techniques.Brant developed the concept of spatial music originally seen in antiphonal music in the late renaissance and early baroque....
. He won the 1968 Golden Globe award for his music to The Shoes of the Fisherman.

Some of his best-known film scores include The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker (1956 film)

The Rainmaker is a 1956 in film film directed by Joseph Anthony and adapted by N. Richard Nash from his The Rainmaker . The film tells the story of a middle-aged woman, suffering from unrequited love for the local town sheriff; however, she falls for a con man who comes to town with the promise that he can make it rain....
 (1956
1956 in film

The year 1956 in film involved some significant events....
), Spartacus
Spartacus (film)

Spartacus is a 1960 in film historical film drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the Spartacus by Howard Fast about the historical life of Spartacus and the Third Servile War....
 (1960
1960 in film

The year 1960 in film involved some significant events....
), The Misfits
The Misfits (film)

The Misfits is a 1961 United States drama film, written by Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston, and starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter, and Eli Wallach....
 (1961
1961 in film

The year 1961 in film involved some significant events....
), Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)

Cleopatra is a 1963 in film film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Joseph L....
 (1963
1963 in film

The year 1963 in film involved some significant events....
), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 film adaptation of the Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee. It was the first film directed by Mike Nichols, and starred Elizabeth Taylor as Martha and Richard Burton as George, with George Segal as Nick and Sandy Dennis as Honey....
 (1966
1966 in film

The year 1966 in film involved some significant events....
), and The Devil's Brigade
The Devil's Brigade (film)

The Devil's Brigade is a 1968 in film American war film based on the 1966 in literature book of the same name co-written by American novelist and historian Robert H....
 (1968
1968 in film

The year 1968 in film involved some significant events....
). His commissioned score
2001: A Space Odyssey (score)

The 2001: A Space Odyssey score is an unused film score composed by Alex North for Stanley Kubrick's 1968 in film film, 2001: A Space Odyssey ....
 for Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an influential American-British filmmaker, screenwriter, Film producer and photographer. He directed a number of highly acclaimed and often controversial films....
's 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 in film science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The film deals with thematic elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life, and is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, ambiguous and of...
 (1968
1968 in film

The year 1968 in film involved some significant events....
) was discarded by the director, but has since been released on CD.

Though North is best known for his work in Hollywood, he spent years in New York writing music for the stage. It was in New York that he met Elia Kazan, who brought him to Hollywood in the 50s. North was one of several composers who brought the influence of contemporary concert music into film, in part marked by an increased use of dissonance and complex rhythms. But there is also a lyrical quality to much of his work which may be connected to the influence of Aaron Copland, with whom he studied.

His classical works include a Rhapsody
Rhapsody (music)

A rhapsody in music is a Movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour and tonality....
 for Piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
, Trumpet
Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
 obbligato
Obbligato

In european classical music obbligato usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ad libitum....
 and Orchestra
Orchestra

An orchestra is an Musical ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an theatre of ancient Greece reserved for the Greek chorus....
. He was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
 for his score for the 1976 television miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man
Rich Man, Poor Man (TV miniseries)

Rich Man, Poor Man was a 1976 United States television miniseries that aired on American Broadcasting Company in one-hour episodes at 10:00pm ET/PT on Monday night for twelve weeks, beginning February 1....
. North is also known for his opening to the CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
 television anthology series Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90

Playhouse 90 is a 90-minute dramatic television anthology series, telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1961 for a total of 133 episodes. Since live anthology drama series of the mid-1950s were hour-long shows, the title highlighted the network's intention to present something unusual, a weekly series of hour-and-a-half dramas rather than 60-minut...
.

Broadway credits

  • Mother
    Mother

    A mother is a biological and/or Maternal bond female parent of an offspring. Because of the complexity and differences of the social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother in a universally accepted definition....
     (1935) - play with music - co-composer
    Composer

    A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
  • Life and Death of an American (1939) - play - co-composer
    Composer

    A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
  • Tis of Thee (1940) - revue
    Revue

    A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre entertainment that combines music, dance and sketch comedy. The revue has its roots in nineteenth-century American popular entertainment and melodrama, but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from ca....
     - co-composer
    Composer

    A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
  • Of V We Sing (1942) - revue
    Revue

    A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre entertainment that combines music, dance and sketch comedy. The revue has its roots in nineteenth-century American popular entertainment and melodrama, but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from ca....
     - featured composer
    Composer

    A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
  • Death of a Salesman
    Death of a Salesman

    Death of a Salesman is a 1949 Play by American playwright Arthur Miller and is a classic of American theater. The play ran for 742 performances, directed by Elia Kazan with Lee J....
     (1949) - music for the play - composer
    Composer

    A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
  • The Innocents
    The Innocents

    The Innocents may refer to:* The Innocents , a 1917 novel by Sinclair Lewis* The Innocents , a 1950 play by William Archibald based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw...
     (1950) - play - incidental music
    Incidental music

    Incidental music is music in a Play , television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack."...
     composer
    Composer

    A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
  • A Streetcar Named Desire (1952) - ballet
    Ballet

    Ballet is a formalized type of performative dance, the origins of which date lay in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form....
     based on the play - composer
    Composer

    A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
  • Street Corner Symphony (1997) - revue
    Revue

    A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre entertainment that combines music, dance and sketch comedy. The revue has its roots in nineteenth-century American popular entertainment and melodrama, but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from ca....
     - featured songwriter
    Songwriter

    File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
     for "Unchained Melody"


Academy Award Nominations

  • 1952: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Death of a Salesman; A Streetcar Named Desire)
  • 1953: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Viva Zapata!)
  • 1956: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (The Rose Tattoo)
  • 1956: Best Music, Original Song ("Unchained Melody", co-written with Hy Zaret
    Hy Zaret

    Hy Zaret was an American lyricist and composer best known as the co-author of the 1955 hit "Unchained Melody", one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century....
    )
  • 1957: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (The Rainmaker)
  • 1961: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Spartacus)
  • 1964: Best Music, Score - Substantially Original (Cleopatra)
  • 1966: Best Music, Score - Substantially Original (The Agony and the Ecstasy)
  • 1967: Best Music, Original Music Score (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)
  • 1969: Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture not a Musical (The Shoes of the Fisherman)
  • 1975: Best Music, Original Dramatic Score (Shanks)
  • 1976: Best Music, Original Score (Bite the Bullet)
  • 1982: Best Music, Original Score (Dragonslayer)
  • 1985: Best Music, Original Score (Under the Volcano)


External links

  • website maintained by his family.