Herbert Stothart(1885-1949)
- Composer
- Music Department
- Writer
Of Scottish and German ancestry, Herbert Stothart was born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1885. At first, he was slated for a career as
a teacher of history. However, he became enamored with music while
singing in a school choir, and again, later, while attending the
University of Wisconsin. There, he composed and conducted musicals for
the Haresfoot Dramatic Club (the actor
Otis Skinner was a noted alumnus). The
success of one of these amateur productions, "Manicure Shop", which was
staged professionally in Chicago, led to further musical studies in
Europe, followed by full-time work as a composer for vaudeville and
musical theatre.
In 1914, Stothart was hired by legendary lyricist
Oscar Hammerstein II as musical
director for the Rudolf Friml operetta
"High Jinks". After three years on the road with various shows,
Stothart scored his first Broadway musical, the farce "Furs and
Frills", in October 1917. During the next decade, he continued a string
of successful collaborations with top-flight composers, lyricists and
playwrights, including Otto A. Harbach
and Vincent Youmans. After 1922,
Stothart's own original compositions began to be featured, and, within
two years, he was able to celebrate his first major hit with the
musical "Rose-Marie". "Rose-Marie" was written in conjunction with
Rudolf Friml and ran for an impressive 557 performances at the Imperial
Theatre. Stothart followed this success with the opera/ballet "Song of
the Flame", co-written with
George Gershwin. In 1929, the success of
'talking pictures', combined with the popularity of musicals, prompted studio boss Louis B. Mayer
to lure Stothart to Hollywood.
Within just a few years, Stothart established himself as MGM's foremost
film composer, working exclusively on the studio's prestige output.
Many of his scores were for productions derived from literary classics,
such as
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935),
The Good Earth (1937) and
Pride and Prejudice (1940).
Stothart's preferred musical style was subtle and melodic, sometimes
mournful, often prominently featuring violins. He was prone to use
leitmotifs from classical composers, for example in
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
and
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
(Chopin), or Conquest (1937) and
Waterloo Bridge (1940)
(Tchaikovsky). In his dual capacity as musical director, Stothart also
supervised or orchestrated almost all of the popular
Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald
operettas. He composed a number of songs, one of the best-known being
the
'Donkey Serenade', sung by Allan Jones
in The Firefly (1937). Most
importantly, perhaps, he became the first composer at MGM to win an
Academy Award for a musical score for
The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Herbert Stothart spent his entire Hollywood career at MGM. In 1947, he
suffered a heart attack while visiting Scotland, and, afterwards,
composed an orchestral piece ('Heart Attack: A Symphonic Poem'), based
on his tribulations. He worked on another ('The Voice of Liberation'),
when he died two years later at the age of 63 from cancer of the spine.
He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1885. At first, he was slated for a career as
a teacher of history. However, he became enamored with music while
singing in a school choir, and again, later, while attending the
University of Wisconsin. There, he composed and conducted musicals for
the Haresfoot Dramatic Club (the actor
Otis Skinner was a noted alumnus). The
success of one of these amateur productions, "Manicure Shop", which was
staged professionally in Chicago, led to further musical studies in
Europe, followed by full-time work as a composer for vaudeville and
musical theatre.
In 1914, Stothart was hired by legendary lyricist
Oscar Hammerstein II as musical
director for the Rudolf Friml operetta
"High Jinks". After three years on the road with various shows,
Stothart scored his first Broadway musical, the farce "Furs and
Frills", in October 1917. During the next decade, he continued a string
of successful collaborations with top-flight composers, lyricists and
playwrights, including Otto A. Harbach
and Vincent Youmans. After 1922,
Stothart's own original compositions began to be featured, and, within
two years, he was able to celebrate his first major hit with the
musical "Rose-Marie". "Rose-Marie" was written in conjunction with
Rudolf Friml and ran for an impressive 557 performances at the Imperial
Theatre. Stothart followed this success with the opera/ballet "Song of
the Flame", co-written with
George Gershwin. In 1929, the success of
'talking pictures', combined with the popularity of musicals, prompted studio boss Louis B. Mayer
to lure Stothart to Hollywood.
Within just a few years, Stothart established himself as MGM's foremost
film composer, working exclusively on the studio's prestige output.
Many of his scores were for productions derived from literary classics,
such as
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935),
The Good Earth (1937) and
Pride and Prejudice (1940).
Stothart's preferred musical style was subtle and melodic, sometimes
mournful, often prominently featuring violins. He was prone to use
leitmotifs from classical composers, for example in
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
and
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
(Chopin), or Conquest (1937) and
Waterloo Bridge (1940)
(Tchaikovsky). In his dual capacity as musical director, Stothart also
supervised or orchestrated almost all of the popular
Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald
operettas. He composed a number of songs, one of the best-known being
the
'Donkey Serenade', sung by Allan Jones
in The Firefly (1937). Most
importantly, perhaps, he became the first composer at MGM to win an
Academy Award for a musical score for
The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Herbert Stothart spent his entire Hollywood career at MGM. In 1947, he
suffered a heart attack while visiting Scotland, and, afterwards,
composed an orchestral piece ('Heart Attack: A Symphonic Poem'), based
on his tribulations. He worked on another ('The Voice of Liberation'),
when he died two years later at the age of 63 from cancer of the spine.
He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.