Johnny Green
Encyclopedia
Johnny Green was an American songwriter
, composer
, musical arranger, and conductor
. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger
. His most famous song was one of his earliest, "Body and Soul
". Green was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1972.
, the son of musical parents. He attended Horace Mann School
and the New York Military Academy
, and was accepted by Harvard at the age of 15, entering the University in 1924. His musical tutors were Herman Wasserman, Ignace Hilsberg and Walter Spalding. Between semesters, Bandleader
Guy Lombardo
heard his Harvard Gold Coast Orchestra and hired him to create dance arrangements for his nationally famous orchestra. His first song hit, Coquette (1928), was written for Lombardo (with Carmen Lombardo
, Guy's brother, and lyricist Gus Kahn
). Green was educated in music
, history
, economics
, and government
. His instruments were the piano
and the trombone
, although he abandoned the latter after college.
His father compelled him to take a job as a stockbroker. Disliking the job, and encouraged by his wife, the former Carol Faulk (to whom he dedicated "I'm Yours"), he left Wall Street
to pursue a musical career.
". He wrote the scores for various films and TV programs.
His earliest songs appeared with the billing "John W. Green," a styling he reverted to in the 1960s. After that anyone addressing "Johnny" was put right with the statement, "You can call me John - or you can call me Maestro!"
At the beginning of his musical career he arranged for dance orchestras, most notably Jean Goldkette
on NBC
. He was accompanist/arranger
to musicians such as James Melton
, Libby Holman
and Ethel Merman
. It was while writing material for Gertrude Lawrence
that he composed "Body and Soul
", the first recording of which was made by Jack Hylton
& His Orchestra eleven days before the song was copyrighted.
Between 1930 and 1933 he was the arranger and conductor for Paramount Pictures
and worked with singers Ethel Merman
, Gertrude Lawrence
and James Melton
.
Green composed many of his hit standards during the 1930s, including "Out of Nowhere
", co-authored with Edward Heyman
(1931), "Rain Rain Go Away" (1932), "I Cover the Waterfront
", "You're Mine You", and "I Wanna Be Loved" (all 1933), and "Easy Come Easy Go" and the wonderful, but obscure "Repeal The Blues" (both 1934). He also composed the theme for Max Fleischer
's Betty Boop
cartoons in 1932, with Edward Heyman as lyricist.
After 1933 he had his own orchestra which he used to play around the country. He also, until 1940, conducted orchestras for the Jack Benny
and Philip Morris records and radio shows.
and Paul Whiteman
commissioned Green to write larger works for orchestra, such as Nightclub, premiered by Whiteman at Carnegie Hall
in 1933 with Green on solo piano. During the early '30s he also wrote music for numerous films at Paramount
's Astoria Studios
; conducted in East Coast theatres; and toured vaudeville as musical director for Buddy Rogers. During his two and a half years at Paramount Astoria, he was able to learn more about film scoring from veterans Adolph Deutsch
and Frank Tours.
, where he contributed songs to both Mr. Whittington, a musical comedy for Jack Buchanan
at the London Hippodrome, and to Big Business
, the first musical comedy ever written especially for BBC Radio
.
On Green's return to the U.S.A. early in 1934, William Paley
, president of the Columbia Broadcasting System and an investor in New York
's St. Regis Hotel, encouraged him to form what became known as Johnny Green, His Piano and Orchestra. (Green added, "My arm didn't need much twisting.") The orchestra, based for a time at the St. Regis, featured Green's piano and arrangements, whose harmony and mood were among the most sophisticated of the day. It made dance records for the Columbia
and Brunswick
companies, although in the Depression even the most popular records sold only in small numbers.
In 1935 Green starred on CBS' Socony Sketchbook, sponsored by Socony-Vacuum Oil Co
. He lured the young California singer Virginia Verrill to headline with him on the Friday evening broadcasts. His regular cast of vocalists included his band singers Marjory Logan and Jimmy Farrell, and stage-screen favorites the Four Eton Boys. A bigger venture yet in commercial radio was The Fred Astaire
Hour (aka The Packard Hour), sponsored by Packard
Motors over NBC in 1936 and co-featuring tenor Allan Jones and the comedy of Charles Butterworth
. Green's band also backed Astaire on a series of classic recording dates, in both New York and Hollywood, in 1935-'37. He also served as musical director for The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny
during its 1935-36 season on NBC
.
, he was one of the musicians most responsible for changing the overall sound of the MGM Symphony Orchestra, partially through the re-seating of some of the players. This is why the overall orchestral sound of MGM's musicals from the mid 1940s onward is different from the orchestral sound of those made from 1929 until about 1944.
Green was the Music Director at MGM from 1949 to 1959. He produced numerous film scores, such as the one for Raintree County
. On loan out to Universal, he composed the songs for the Deanna Durbin
musical, "Something in the Wind", one of her last films before retiring.
Nominated for an Oscar thirteen times, he won the award for Easter Parade, An American in Paris
, West Side Story
, and Oliver!
, as well as a producer for the short "The Merry Wives of Windsor Overture", which won in the Short Subjects (One-Reel) category in 1954. The short subject featured Green conducting the MGM Orchestra on screen in the music from the opera of the same name
by Otto Nicolai.
After leaving MGM, he guest conducted with various orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
, Denver Symphony Orchestra
, Philadelphia Orchestra
, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra.
He was also hired to create the televised Guinness
advertisement known as the "World" ad campaign. He recruited a team which included set designer Grant Major and Oscar nominated director of photography Wally Pfisher to complete the job.
, Bathing Beauty
, Easy to Wed
, Something in the Wind
, Easter Parade (for which he won his first Academy Award
), Summer Stock
, An American in Paris
(which won him his second Academy Award), Royal Wedding
, High Society and West Side Story
(another Academy Award winner for him). Although Green was musical director on these films, however, the orchestrations were usually done by someone else - in the case of the MGM musicals, it was usually Conrad Salinger
, and in the case of West Side Story, it was Sid Ramin
and Irwin Kostal
.
In 1965, Green conducted the music for that year's new adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein
's only musical for television, Cinderella, starring Lesley Ann Warren
, Walter Pidgeon
, Ginger Rogers
, and Stuart Damon
.
Johnny Green also adapted, orchestrated and conducted the music for the film Oliver!
(1968), based on the hit musical play, and won an Academy Award for his efforts. He also wrote much of the incidental music
heard in the film, basing it on Lionel Bart
's songs for the original show. His daughter, Kathe
, dubbed Mark Lester
's singing voice in the film.
, Denver Symphony
, the Philadelphia Orchestra
, Los Angeles Philharmonic
and more. He was a chairman of the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
, leading the orchestra through 17 of the Academy Award telecast
s, and a producer of television specials.
and two daughters with MGM "Glamazon" Bunny Waters.
It was during his first marriage
to Carol Faulk that most of his hit standards were composed. Before the marriage ended in the mid '30s, Carol remarked, "We didn't have children, we had songs."
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, musical arranger, and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited with orchestrating nine productions on Broadway from 1931 to 1938, and over seventy-five motion pictures from 1931 to 1962...
. His most famous song was one of his earliest, "Body and Soul
Body and Soul (song)
"Body and Soul" was recorded as a duet by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse in 2011. It was the final recording made by Winehouse before her death on July 23, 2011. The single was released worldwide on September 14, 2011 on iTunes, MTV and VH1....
". Green was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 1972.
Early years
John Waldo Green was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of musical parents. He attended Horace Mann School
Horace Mann School
Horace Mann School is an independent college preparatory school in New York City, New York, United States founded in 1887 known for its rigorous course of studies. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from all across the New York tri-state area from...
and the New York Military Academy
New York Military Academy
New York Military Academy, or NYMA, is an American private boarding school located in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. It was founded in 1889 by Charles Jefferson Wright, a Civil War veteran and former school teacher from New Hampshire who believed that a military structure provided the best...
, and was accepted by Harvard at the age of 15, entering the University in 1924. His musical tutors were Herman Wasserman, Ignace Hilsberg and Walter Spalding. Between semesters, Bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
Guy Lombardo
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
heard his Harvard Gold Coast Orchestra and hired him to create dance arrangements for his nationally famous orchestra. His first song hit, Coquette (1928), was written for Lombardo (with Carmen Lombardo
Carmen Lombardo
Carmen Lombardo was the younger brother of bandleader Guy Lombardo. He was a vocalist and composer whose compositions included the 1928 classic "Sweethearts on Parade", which was number one for three weeks in 1929 on the U.S...
, Guy's brother, and lyricist Gus Kahn
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
). Green was educated in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, and government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. His instruments were the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and the trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, although he abandoned the latter after college.
His father compelled him to take a job as a stockbroker. Disliking the job, and encouraged by his wife, the former Carol Faulk (to whom he dedicated "I'm Yours"), he left Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
to pursue a musical career.
Career
Green wrote a number of songs which have become jazz standards, including "Out of Nowhere" and "Body and SoulBody and Soul (song)
"Body and Soul" was recorded as a duet by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse in 2011. It was the final recording made by Winehouse before her death on July 23, 2011. The single was released worldwide on September 14, 2011 on iTunes, MTV and VH1....
". He wrote the scores for various films and TV programs.
His earliest songs appeared with the billing "John W. Green," a styling he reverted to in the 1960s. After that anyone addressing "Johnny" was put right with the statement, "You can call me John - or you can call me Maestro!"
At the beginning of his musical career he arranged for dance orchestras, most notably Jean Goldkette
Jean Goldkette
John Jean Goldkette was a jazz pianist and bandleader born in Patras, Greece. Goldkette spent his childhood in Greece and Russia, and emigrated to the United States in 1911....
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. He was accompanist/arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
to musicians such as James Melton
James Melton
James Melton , a popular singer in the 1920s and early 1930s, later began a career as an operatic singer when tenor voices went out of style in popular music around 1932-35...
, Libby Holman
Libby Holman
Libby Holman was an American torch singer and stage actress who also achieved notoriety for her complex and unconventional personal life.-Early life:...
and Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
. It was while writing material for Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...
that he composed "Body and Soul
Body and Soul (song)
"Body and Soul" was recorded as a duet by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse in 2011. It was the final recording made by Winehouse before her death on July 23, 2011. The single was released worldwide on September 14, 2011 on iTunes, MTV and VH1....
", the first recording of which was made by Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton was a British band leader and impresario.He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage...
& His Orchestra eleven days before the song was copyrighted.
Between 1930 and 1933 he was the arranger and conductor for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and worked with singers Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
, Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...
and James Melton
James Melton
James Melton , a popular singer in the 1920s and early 1930s, later began a career as an operatic singer when tenor voices went out of style in popular music around 1932-35...
.
Green composed many of his hit standards during the 1930s, including "Out of Nowhere
Out of Nowhere (Johnny Green song)
"Out of Nowhere" is a popular song composed by Johnny Green with lyrics by Edward Heyman. It was first recorded by Bing Crosby in 1931 and became his first number one hit as a solo artist...
", co-authored with Edward Heyman
Edward Heyman
Edward Heyman was an American musician and lyricist, best known for his compositions "Body and Soul", "When I Fall in Love", and "For Sentimental Reasons". He also contributed many songs for films.-Biography:...
(1931), "Rain Rain Go Away" (1932), "I Cover the Waterfront
I Cover the Waterfront (song)
"I Cover the Watefront" is a 1933 popular song and jazz standard composed by Johnny Green with lyrics by Edward Heyman.The song was inspired by Max Miller's 1932 best-selling novel I Cover the Waterfront...
", "You're Mine You", and "I Wanna Be Loved" (all 1933), and "Easy Come Easy Go" and the wonderful, but obscure "Repeal The Blues" (both 1934). He also composed the theme for Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer was an American animator. He was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios...
's Betty Boop
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
cartoons in 1932, with Edward Heyman as lyricist.
After 1933 he had his own orchestra which he used to play around the country. He also, until 1940, conducted orchestras for the Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
and Philip Morris records and radio shows.
Carnegie Hall and Astoria Studios
Nathaniel ShilkretNathaniel Shilkret
Nathaniel Shilkret was an American composer, conductor, clarinetist, pianist, business executive, and music director born in New York City, New York to an Austrian immigrant family.-Early career:...
and Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
commissioned Green to write larger works for orchestra, such as Nightclub, premiered by Whiteman at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1933 with Green on solo piano. During the early '30s he also wrote music for numerous films at Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
's Astoria Studios
Kaufman Astoria Studios
The Kaufman Astoria Studios is an historic movie studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens.-History:It was originally built by Famous Players-Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the Broadway theater district. Many features and short...
; conducted in East Coast theatres; and toured vaudeville as musical director for Buddy Rogers. During his two and a half years at Paramount Astoria, he was able to learn more about film scoring from veterans Adolph Deutsch
Adolph Deutsch
Adolph Deutsch was a composer, conductor and arranger. He won Oscars for his background music for Oklahoma! , and for conducting the music for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Annie Get Your Gun...
and Frank Tours.
London, radio, and recordings
Green spent much of 1933 in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he contributed songs to both Mr. Whittington, a musical comedy for Jack Buchanan
Jack Buchanan
Walter John "Jack" Buchanan was a British theatre and film actor, singer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George Grossmith Jr., and was described by The Times as "the last of the knuts." He is best known in...
at the London Hippodrome, and to Big Business
Big Business
Big business is a term used to describe large corporations, in either an individual or collective sense. The term first came into use in a symbolic sense subsequent to the American Civil War, particularly after 1880, in connection with the combination movement that began in American business at...
, the first musical comedy ever written especially for BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
.
On Green's return to the U.S.A. early in 1934, William Paley
William Paley
William Paley was a British Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work Natural Theology, which made use of the watchmaker analogy .-Life:Paley was Born in Peterborough, England, and was...
, president of the Columbia Broadcasting System and an investor in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's St. Regis Hotel, encouraged him to form what became known as Johnny Green, His Piano and Orchestra. (Green added, "My arm didn't need much twisting.") The orchestra, based for a time at the St. Regis, featured Green's piano and arrangements, whose harmony and mood were among the most sophisticated of the day. It made dance records for the Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and Brunswick
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
companies, although in the Depression even the most popular records sold only in small numbers.
In 1935 Green starred on CBS' Socony Sketchbook, sponsored by Socony-Vacuum Oil Co
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
. He lured the young California singer Virginia Verrill to headline with him on the Friday evening broadcasts. His regular cast of vocalists included his band singers Marjory Logan and Jimmy Farrell, and stage-screen favorites the Four Eton Boys. A bigger venture yet in commercial radio was The Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
Hour (aka The Packard Hour), sponsored by Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
Motors over NBC in 1936 and co-featuring tenor Allan Jones and the comedy of Charles Butterworth
Charles Butterworth
Charles Butterworth, Ph.D. is a noted philosopher of the Straussian school and currently a professor of political philosophy at the University of Maryland, College Park....
. Green's band also backed Astaire on a series of classic recording dates, in both New York and Hollywood, in 1935-'37. He also served as musical director for The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
during its 1935-36 season on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Piano, film, and MGM
He continued conducting on radio and in theatres into the 1940s, also leading a dance band for the short-lived Royale Records label in 1939-40, until he decided to move permanently to Hollywood and work in the film business. Green particularly made an impression at MGM, where in the 1940s, along with orchestrator Conrad SalingerConrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited with orchestrating nine productions on Broadway from 1931 to 1938, and over seventy-five motion pictures from 1931 to 1962...
, he was one of the musicians most responsible for changing the overall sound of the MGM Symphony Orchestra, partially through the re-seating of some of the players. This is why the overall orchestral sound of MGM's musicals from the mid 1940s onward is different from the orchestral sound of those made from 1929 until about 1944.
Green was the Music Director at MGM from 1949 to 1959. He produced numerous film scores, such as the one for Raintree County
Raintree County (film)
Raintree County is a 1957 Technicolor film drama about the American Civil War. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee Marvin....
. On loan out to Universal, he composed the songs for the Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
musical, "Something in the Wind", one of her last films before retiring.
Nominated for an Oscar thirteen times, he won the award for Easter Parade, An American in Paris
An American in Paris (film)
An American in Paris is a 1951 MGM musical film inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, and Nina Foch, the film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner...
, West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
, and Oliver!
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
, as well as a producer for the short "The Merry Wives of Windsor Overture", which won in the Short Subjects (One-Reel) category in 1954. The short subject featured Green conducting the MGM Orchestra on screen in the music from the opera of the same name
The Merry Wives of Windsor (opera)
The Merry Wives of Windsor is an opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Hermann Salomon Mosenthal, based on the play The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare....
by Otto Nicolai.
After leaving MGM, he guest conducted with various orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
, Denver Symphony Orchestra
Denver Symphony Orchestra
The Denver Symphony Orchestra, established in 1934 and dissolved in 1989, was a professional American orchestra in Denver, Colorado. Until 1978, when the Boettcher Concert Hall was built to house the symphony orchestra, it performed in a succession of theaters, amphitheaters and auditoriums...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra.
He was also hired to create the televised Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
advertisement known as the "World" ad campaign. He recruited a team which included set designer Grant Major and Oscar nominated director of photography Wally Pfisher to complete the job.
Musical director
Johnny Green's credits as musical executive, arranger, conductor and composer are considerable but include such films as Raintree CountyRaintree County (film)
Raintree County is a 1957 Technicolor film drama about the American Civil War. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee Marvin....
, Bathing Beauty
Bathing Beauty
Bathing Beauty is a 1944 musical starring Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone and Esther Williams and directed by George Sidney.Although this was not William's screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The film was initially to be titled "Mr. Co-Ed" with Red Skelton having top billing...
, Easy to Wed
Easy to Wed
Easy to Wed is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell. The screenplay by Dorothy Kingsley is an updated adaptation of the screenplay of the 1936 film Libeled Lady by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, and George Oppenheimer.-Plot:Financier J.B...
, Something in the Wind
Something in the Wind
Something in the Wind is an American feature film directed by Irving Pichel, released by Universal Studios, and starring Donald O'Connor and Deanna Durbin....
, Easter Parade (for which he won his first Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
), Summer Stock
Summer Stock
For the article about the theatre genre, see Summer stock theatre.Summer Stock is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers...
, An American in Paris
An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a symphonic tone poem by the American composer George Gershwin, written in 1928. Inspired by the time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it evokes the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is one of Gershwin's best-known compositions.Gershwin composed the piece...
(which won him his second Academy Award), Royal Wedding
Royal Wedding
Royal Wedding is a 1951 Hollywood musical comedy film known for Fred Astaire's dance performance on a ceiling and another with a coat rack. The story is set in London in 1947 at the time of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and stars Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah...
, High Society and West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
(another Academy Award winner for him). Although Green was musical director on these films, however, the orchestrations were usually done by someone else - in the case of the MGM musicals, it was usually Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited with orchestrating nine productions on Broadway from 1931 to 1938, and over seventy-five motion pictures from 1931 to 1962...
, and in the case of West Side Story, it was Sid Ramin
Sid Ramin
Sidney Norton Ramin is an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer.- Personal life :The son of Ezra Ramin, a window trimmer, and Beatrice D. Ramin, he was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 22, with various sources indicating either a birth year of 1919 or 1924. Ramin married Gloria...
and Irwin Kostal
Irwin Kostal
Irwin Kostal was an American musical arranger of films and an orchestrator of Broadway musicals.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kostal opted not to attend college, instead teaching himself musical arranging by studying the symphonic scores available at his local library...
.
Conductor
As mentioned earlier, Green conducted the orchestra for such famous MGM musicals as An American in Paris, as well as for United Artists' 1961 film version of West Side Story.In 1965, Green conducted the music for that year's new adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
's only musical for television, Cinderella, starring Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Emmy Awards and five times for Golden Globe, winning one....
, Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
, Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, and Stuart Damon
Stuart Damon
Stuart Damon is an American actor. He is known for thirty years of portraying the character Dr. Alan Quartermaine on the American soap opera General Hospital, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1999....
.
Johnny Green also adapted, orchestrated and conducted the music for the film Oliver!
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
(1968), based on the hit musical play, and won an Academy Award for his efforts. He also wrote much of the 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"....
heard in the film, basing it on Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
's songs for the original show. His daughter, Kathe
Kathe Green
Kathe Green is a Californian actress, model and singer. She is the daughter of Johnny Green.-Career:Kathe Green appeared in Blake Edwards´ The Party and then dubbed all of Mark Lester's singing voice in Oliver!. She signed to Deram Records and used a line of poetry bestowed on her by close friend...
, dubbed Mark Lester
Mark Lester
Mark Lester is an English former child actor known for playing the title role in the 1968 musical film version of Oliver! and starring in a number of other British and European films of the 1960s and 70s and in a number of television series.-Early life and film career:Lester was born in Oxford,...
's singing voice in the film.
Accreditations
Green was a respected board member of ASCAP, and guest conductor with symphonies around the world, including the Hollywood BowlHollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
, Denver Symphony
Denver Symphony Orchestra
The Denver Symphony Orchestra, established in 1934 and dissolved in 1989, was a professional American orchestra in Denver, Colorado. Until 1978, when the Boettcher Concert Hall was built to house the symphony orchestra, it performed in a succession of theaters, amphitheaters and auditoriums...
, the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
and more. He was a chairman of the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
, leading the orchestra through 17 of the Academy Award telecast
Telecast
Telecast may refer to:*television broadcast*Telecast , a Christian band from the United States...
s, and a producer of television specials.
Personal life
He married three times, had a daughter with actress Betty FurnessBetty Furness
Elizabeth Mary Furness was an American actress, consumer advocate and current affairs commentator.-Early years:...
and two daughters with MGM "Glamazon" Bunny Waters.
It was during his first marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
to Carol Faulk that most of his hit standards were composed. Before the marriage ended in the mid '30s, Carol remarked, "We didn't have children, we had songs."
External links
- The Johnny Green Papers and Johnny Green Additional Papers are part of the Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton LibraryHoughton LibraryHoughton Library is the primary repository for rare books and manuscripts at Harvard University. It is part of the Harvard College Library within the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Houghton is located on the south side of Harvard Yard, next to Widener Library.- History :Harvard's first...
, Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. - Profile at TheOscarSite
- Profile at the Songwriters Hall of Fame