Steiner was born on February 24, 1923, in New York City, the son of Hungarian-born film composer George Steiner.[2] Steiner was Jewish.[3] He began playing the piano at age six, and at age 13 had expanded his music studies to include the cello and music theory. Steiner was considered a child prodigy and, from a very early age, had a desire to do the same work his father did - composing film and radio scores. After graduating from Townsend Harris High School he accepted a scholarship to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied with composer Normand Lockwood. He received his degree in music composition from Oberlin in 1943.[4]
Radio
Straight out of college, Steiner began composing and arranging scores for New York-based radio broadcasts. These early credits included Suspense and CBS Radio Workshop. Steiner also composed for several wartime propaganda shorts made to sell war bonds.[5] The most pivotal point in his early career came when he was introduced to Van Cleave in the early 1940s by his father, who at the time was playing in Cleave's orchestra. When Steiner was later employed as an orchestrator for various later radio broadcasts, he was inexperienced but studied Van Cleave closely to develop his own skills.[4]: 176 In 1945 Steiner was appointed the first music director of This is Your FBI, composing and arranging for 47 episodes of the radio crime drama. With the decline of the radio industry, Steiner decided to shift his attention to television. He moved west to Los Angeles in 1947.
Television
Steiner wrote for a number of television series, including many episodes of the original Star Trek series. An article he wrote for the Library of Congress, "Music for Star Trek: Scoring a Television Show in the Sixties", outlines and defines the contributions of all the original underscore composers of this series.[6]
Perhaps the best-known of Steiner's works, "Park Avenue Beat", is the Perry Mason TV theme. It was used from 1957 to 1966 for the original Perry Mason series and was re-recorded by Dick DeBenedictis for the subsequent made-for-TV movies in 1985. The tune was covered by the Blues Brothers for the soundtrack of the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000. Steiner said he wrote such a jazzy theme because he envisioned lawyer-sleuth Mason as a flamboyant, film noir type often out on the town, but Mason as portrayed in the series was a somewhat reserved character seen mostly in his office or in court.
Steiner received a doctorate in musicology from the University of Southern California in 1981. His dissertation was about the early career of film composer Alfred Newman. Prior to Steiner's thesis, there existed little interest in the academic study of film music. Steiner became one of the first to bring musicology and film perspective together.[7] Scholarly articles on film music appear in The Cue Sheet, Film Music Quarterly and the Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress.
Personal
Fred Steiner died on June 23, 2011, at his home in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico, after suffering a stroke at the age of 88.[1] He was survived by his wife of 64 years, Shirley Steiner; two daughters, singer-songwriter Wendy Waldman and Jillian Sandrock of Ajijic, Mexico; his sister, Kay Gellert; two nieces; one nephew; two great-nieces; three great-nephews; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.[8]
^ abcd"Composer of 'Perry Mason,' 'Bullwinkle Show' themes dies at 88". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2011-06-26. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
^Lewis, Randy (June 25, 2011). "Fred Steiner dies at 88; Hollywood composer created 'Perry Mason' theme". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
^"The Eulogizer: Hollywood composer Fred Steiner, Houdini collector Sidney Radner". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
^ abThomas, Tony (1979). Film Score: The View from the Podium. New York: A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 1750-498-92358-3.
^Mowis, I.S. "Fred Steiner Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
^Steiner, Fred, "Music for Star Trek: Scoring a Television Show in the Sixties", in Newsom, Iris (ed.), Wonderful Inventions: Motion Pictures, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound at the Library of Congress, Volume 1, pp. 287-309, Washington, DC, 1985
^Steiner, Fred; Marks, Martin; Goldmark, Daniel; Lerner, Neil (16 October 2013). Film Music. Oxford Music Online: The Grove Dictionary of American Music. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
^Lewis, Randy (2011-06-25). "Fred Steiner dies at 88; [Hollywood] composer created 'Perry Mason' theme". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
fred, steiner, american, scholar, architecture, frederick, steiner, frederick, steiner, february, 1923, june, 2011, american, composer, conductor, orchestrator, film, historian, arranger, television, radio, film, steiner, wrote, theme, music, rocky, bullwinkle. For American scholar of architecture see Frederick Steiner Frederick Steiner February 24 1923 June 23 2011 was an American composer conductor orchestrator film historian and arranger for television radio and film Steiner wrote the theme music for The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and Perry Mason While Alexander Courage composed the theme music for the original Star Trek TV series TOS Steiner s significant contributions to the franchise included composing more of the incidental music for TOS than any other composer as well as scoring or conducting the music for 29 of the show s 79 episodes Steiner also composed and orchestrated additional music for Star Trek The Motion Picture 1979 1 was part of the team of composers for the 1985 film The Color Purple which received an Oscar nomination and was an uncredited composer for Return of the Jedi 1 Fred SteinerBorn 1923 02 24 February 24 1923New York City U S DiedJune 23 2011 2011 06 23 aged 88 Ajijic Jalisco MexicoOccupation s Composer conductor orchestrator film historian Steiner was most active in television series during the 1950s and 1960s His numerous composition credits included music for Hogan s Heroes Have Gun Will Travel The Twilight Zone Gunsmoke and Rawhide 1 Contents 1 Early life 2 Radio 3 Television 4 Feature film work 5 Musicological work 6 Personal 7 Filmography 7 1 Radio compositions 7 2 Television 7 3 Movies 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksEarly life EditSteiner was born on February 24 1923 in New York City the son of Hungarian born film composer George Steiner 2 Steiner was Jewish 3 He began playing the piano at age six and at age 13 had expanded his music studies to include the cello and music theory Steiner was considered a child prodigy and from a very early age had a desire to do the same work his father did composing film and radio scores After graduating from Townsend Harris High School he accepted a scholarship to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied with composer Normand Lockwood He received his degree in music composition from Oberlin in 1943 4 Radio EditStraight out of college Steiner began composing and arranging scores for New York based radio broadcasts These early credits included Suspense and CBS Radio Workshop Steiner also composed for several wartime propaganda shorts made to sell war bonds 5 The most pivotal point in his early career came when he was introduced to Van Cleave in the early 1940s by his father who at the time was playing in Cleave s orchestra When Steiner was later employed as an orchestrator for various later radio broadcasts he was inexperienced but studied Van Cleave closely to develop his own skills 4 176 In 1945 Steiner was appointed the first music director of This is Your FBI composing and arranging for 47 episodes of the radio crime drama With the decline of the radio industry Steiner decided to shift his attention to television He moved west to Los Angeles in 1947 Television EditSteiner wrote for a number of television series including many episodes of the original Star Trek series An article he wrote for the Library of Congress Music for Star Trek Scoring a Television Show in the Sixties outlines and defines the contributions of all the original underscore composers of this series 6 Perhaps the best known of Steiner s works Park Avenue Beat is the Perry Mason TV theme It was used from 1957 to 1966 for the original Perry Mason series and was re recorded by Dick DeBenedictis for the subsequent made for TV movies in 1985 The tune was covered by the Blues Brothers for the soundtrack of the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000 Steiner said he wrote such a jazzy theme because he envisioned lawyer sleuth Mason as a flamboyant film noir type often out on the town but Mason as portrayed in the series was a somewhat reserved character seen mostly in his office or in court Steiner also composed the main theme to The Bullwinkle Show and Follow That Man and contributed music to episodes of Lost in Space The Twilight Zone and Amazing Stories Feature film work EditHis feature film work included original scores to films such as Run for the Sun 1956 Time Limit 1957 Man from Del Rio 1956 Della 1964 Hercules and the Princess of Troy 1965 First to Fight 1967 Carter s Army 1970 Heatwave 1974 and The Sea Gypsies 1978 as well as orchestration adaptation sometimes uncredited for other composers including The Man with the Golden Arm 1956 The Greatest Story Ever Told 1965 and Star Trek The Motion Picture 1979 His Academy Award nomination for Best Music Original Score was for The Color Purple 1985 It was a shared nomination with Quincy Jones Jeremy Lubbock Rod Temperton Caiphus Semenya Andrae Crouch Chris Boardman Jorge Calandrelli Joel Rosenbaum Jack Hayes Jerry Hey and Randy Kerber Musicological work EditSteiner received a doctorate in musicology from the University of Southern California in 1981 His dissertation was about the early career of film composer Alfred Newman Prior to Steiner s thesis there existed little interest in the academic study of film music Steiner became one of the first to bring musicology and film perspective together 7 Scholarly articles on film music appear in The Cue Sheet Film Music Quarterly and the Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress Personal EditFred Steiner died on June 23 2011 at his home in Ajijic Jalisco Mexico after suffering a stroke at the age of 88 1 He was survived by his wife of 64 years Shirley Steiner two daughters singer songwriter Wendy Waldman and Jillian Sandrock of Ajijic Mexico his sister Kay Gellert two nieces one nephew two great nieces three great nephews two grandchildren and two great grandchildren 8 Filmography EditRadio compositions Edit Adventures of Philip Marlowe 1947 Arkansas Traveler 1946 The Borden Show 1945 Candide 1953 The CBS Radio Workshop 1940s Hallmark Playhouse 1940s Radio Reader s Digest 1944 1945 Television Edit Amazing Stories Andy Griffith Show 1961 1965 Beany and Cecil 1962 The Big Valley 1965 Bonanza 1971 Boots and Saddles Bracken s World Buick Electra Playhouse Cain s Hundred 1960 1962 The Court of Last Resort Daniel Boone 1964 1970 The Danny Thomas Show Death of a Salesman Dennis the Menace The Detectives Desilu Playhouse The Dick Powell Show Dynasty Ensign O Toole Family Flight Father Knows Best From Here to Eternity General Electric Theater The Ghost amp Mrs Muir Gilligan s Island 1964 Gomer Pyle U S M C The Great Adventure The Guns of Will Sonnett 1967 1969 Gunsmoke 1961 1979 Have Gun Will Travel 1961 1963 Hawaii Five O 1978 1979 Hazel Hec Ramsey Hogan s Heroes Honey West Hotel de Paree I Spy Judd for the Defense Kraft Television Theatre Lancer Life with Luigi The Lloyd Bridges Show The Lone Ranger The Loner The Long Hot Summer Lost in Space The Man from Blackhawk The Man from U N C L E Mannix The Millionaire My Favorite Husband My Friend Irma Navy Log O Hara U S Treasury Perry Mason Pete and Gladys Peyton Place Playhouse 90 Police Woman Rawhide Rescue 8 The Richard Boone Show Riverboat The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show 1961 Saints and Sinners Star Trek The Next Generation Star Trek The Original Series The Streets of San Francisco The Tab Hunter Show Target The Corruptors The Texan citation needed Tightrope Tiny Toons Adventures 1990 1992 Twelve O Clock High The Twilight Zone 1960 1963 The Untouchables 1962 Valentine s Day 1964 Wake Me When the War is Over 1969 Where s Raymond The Wild Wild West Zane Grey TheatreMovies Edit Cloak amp Dagger The Color Purple The Deadly Trackers First to Fight Gremlins 2 The New Batch Herbie Goes Bananas Man from Del Rio Night Terror Run for the Sun The Sea Gypsies The St Valentine s Day Massacre Time LimitSee also EditThe Film Music SocietyReferences Edit a b c d Composer of Perry Mason Bullwinkle Show themes dies at 88 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 2011 06 26 Retrieved 2011 06 27 Lewis Randy June 25 2011 Fred Steiner dies at 88 Hollywood composer created Perry Mason theme Los Angeles Times Los Angeles California Retrieved 16 May 2016 The Eulogizer Hollywood composer Fred Steiner Houdini collector Sidney Radner Jewish Telegraphic Agency 2011 06 30 Retrieved 2021 01 03 a b Thomas Tony 1979 Film Score The View from the Podium New York A S Barnes and Company p 1750 498 92358 3 Mowis I S Fred Steiner Biography IMDb com Retrieved June 2 2016 Steiner Fred Music for Star Trek Scoring a Television Show in the Sixties in Newsom Iris ed Wonderful Inventions Motion Pictures Broadcasting and Recorded Sound at the Library of Congress Volume 1 pp 287 309 Washington DC 1985 Steiner Fred Marks Martin Goldmark Daniel Lerner Neil 16 October 2013 Film Music Oxford Music Online The Grove Dictionary of American Music Retrieved 16 May 2016 Lewis Randy 2011 06 25 Fred Steiner dies at 88 Hollywood composer created Perry Mason theme Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2011 06 27 External links EditFred Steiner at IMDb Fred Steiner at Memory Alpha a Star Trek wiki Fred Steiner at Find a Grave Guide to the Fred Steiner papers at the University of Oregon Fred Steiner at The Interviews An Oral History of Television Fred Steiner papers MSS 2193 at the L Tom Perry Special Collections Library Harold B Lee Library Brigham Young University 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fred Steiner amp oldid 1123062051, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
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