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George Bassman

George Bassman (February 7, 1914 – June 26, 1997) was an American composer and arranger.

George Bassman
Birth nameGeorge Bassman
Born(1914-02-07)February 7, 1914
OriginNew York City, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 26, 1997(1997-06-26) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Composer, arranger

Biography edit

Born in New York City to a Ukrainian- and Lithuanian-Jewish émigré couple, Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at the Boston Conservatory while still a boy.

He studied orchestration and composition formally[citation needed], but in his teens he left home against his father's wishes to play piano in an itinerant jazz group, and subsequently worked as an arranger for Fletcher Henderson in New York.

Through that gig, he became part of the burgeoning swing/big band scene and was soon writing songs as well. Bassman peaked in that career when he and Ned Washington wrote "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" for the bandleader Tommy Dorsey. Bassman also worked in radio as an arranger for Andre Kostelanetz, and made the move to Hollywood in the mid-1930s.

Among his earliest film jobs was orchestrating the Gershwin songs in the Fred Astaire movie A Damsel in Distress at RKO. He later went to work at MGM, where he composed music for the Marx Brothers vehicles A Day at the Races, Go West, and The Big Store, as well as writing or arranging music for such musicals as Lady Be Good and Cabin in the Sky. He also worked on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz (for which he orchestrated the background music used in the tornado scene, poppy-field scene and many of the Emerald City sequences), Babes in Arms, and For Me and My Gal. During his work at MGM, he returned to RKO to supervise the adaptation of the Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart musical Too Many Girls to the big screen. He also worked on dramas, including Vincente Minnelli's The Clock and Tay Garnett's The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Bassman's career was interrupted in the midst of the Red Scare, however, when he admitted in testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee that he had been a member of the Communist party (it was virtually a family legacy, his mother apparently having been a dedicated Communist in the 1910s, when it had a very different meaning than it did in the 1950s).

Bassman left Hollywood after the studios closed their doors to him and returned to New York where he found the theater still open to him. He was engaged to orchestrate the show Guys and Dolls (with Ted Royal), and also composed music for various shows and revues. Although Hollywood was closed to him, Bassman was able to work in television in its early days, as a composer for various live shows and also as a conductor; he eventually composed the music for the live television anthology series Producers' Showcase as well. He also quietly kept his hand in movies, where independent producers were willing to hire him. Among his best scores during this period was his music for The Joe Louis Story (1955); he also got hired to write some music for the Hollywood movie Marty (1955), and Columbia hired him in 1958 to score Middle of the Night.

Bassman had seemingly beaten the blacklist, and without too much inconvenience, but then his professional luck ran out, oddly enough upon his return to MGM for the first time in more than a decade. He clashed with the makers (including director Sam Peckinpah) of what could have been a triumphant comeback, on Ride the High Country (1962). He closed out his film career with Mail Order Bride (1964), and saw several of his scores (including one for Bonnie and Clyde) rejected.

In 1961 he arranged all the music for Mitzi Gaynor's very first nightclub act which debuted at The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.

Late in his career, he re-orchestrated the 1922 one-act jazz opera by George Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva, Blue Monday. This version has been recorded.[according to whom?]

In the late 1960s, he acquired ownership of and operated the Savoy Club, a contract bridge club located on Sunset Strip catering to Hollywood personalities and local bridge professionals.[1]

Death edit

Bassman's died in Los Angeles surrounded by his loved ones in 1997.

External links edit

  • George Bassman at IMDb

References edit

  1. ^ Paul Groman, ed. (1968). "The Club Where Hollywood Plays Bridge". Popular Bridge. Encino, CA: Behn-Miller Publishers. 2 (2): 54–60.

george, bassman, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources George Bassman news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message George Bassman February 7 1914 June 26 1997 was an American composer and arranger George BassmanBirth nameGeorge BassmanBorn 1914 02 07 February 7 1914OriginNew York City New York U S DiedJune 26 1997 1997 06 26 aged 83 Los Angeles California U S Occupation s Composer arranger Contents 1 Biography 2 Death 3 External links 4 ReferencesBiography editBorn in New York City to a Ukrainian and Lithuanian Jewish emigre couple Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at the Boston Conservatory while still a boy He studied orchestration and composition formally citation needed but in his teens he left home against his father s wishes to play piano in an itinerant jazz group and subsequently worked as an arranger for Fletcher Henderson in New York Through that gig he became part of the burgeoning swing big band scene and was soon writing songs as well Bassman peaked in that career when he and Ned Washington wrote I m Getting Sentimental Over You for the bandleader Tommy Dorsey Bassman also worked in radio as an arranger for Andre Kostelanetz and made the move to Hollywood in the mid 1930s Among his earliest film jobs was orchestrating the Gershwin songs in the Fred Astaire movie A Damsel in Distress at RKO He later went to work at MGM where he composed music for the Marx Brothers vehicles A Day at the Races Go West and The Big Store as well as writing or arranging music for such musicals as Lady Be Good and Cabin in the Sky He also worked on Metro Goldwyn Mayer s 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz for which he orchestrated the background music used in the tornado scene poppy field scene and many of the Emerald City sequences Babes in Arms and For Me and My Gal During his work at MGM he returned to RKO to supervise the adaptation of the Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart musical Too Many Girls to the big screen He also worked on dramas including Vincente Minnelli s The Clock and Tay Garnett s The Postman Always Rings Twice Bassman s career was interrupted in the midst of the Red Scare however when he admitted in testimony before the House Un American Activities Committee that he had been a member of the Communist party it was virtually a family legacy his mother apparently having been a dedicated Communist in the 1910s when it had a very different meaning than it did in the 1950s Bassman left Hollywood after the studios closed their doors to him and returned to New York where he found the theater still open to him He was engaged to orchestrate the show Guys and Dolls with Ted Royal and also composed music for various shows and revues Although Hollywood was closed to him Bassman was able to work in television in its early days as a composer for various live shows and also as a conductor he eventually composed the music for the live television anthology series Producers Showcase as well He also quietly kept his hand in movies where independent producers were willing to hire him Among his best scores during this period was his music for The Joe Louis Story 1955 he also got hired to write some music for the Hollywood movie Marty 1955 and Columbia hired him in 1958 to score Middle of the Night Bassman had seemingly beaten the blacklist and without too much inconvenience but then his professional luck ran out oddly enough upon his return to MGM for the first time in more than a decade He clashed with the makers including director Sam Peckinpah of what could have been a triumphant comeback on Ride the High Country 1962 He closed out his film career with Mail Order Bride 1964 and saw several of his scores including one for Bonnie and Clyde rejected In 1961 he arranged all the music for Mitzi Gaynor s very first nightclub act which debuted at The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas Late in his career he re orchestrated the 1922 one act jazz opera by George Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva Blue Monday This version has been recorded according to whom In the late 1960s he acquired ownership of and operated the Savoy Club a contract bridge club located on Sunset Strip catering to Hollywood personalities and local bridge professionals 1 Death editBassman s died in Los Angeles surrounded by his loved ones in 1997 External links editGeorge Bassman at IMDbReferences edit Paul Groman ed 1968 The Club Where Hollywood Plays Bridge Popular Bridge Encino CA Behn Miller Publishers 2 2 54 60 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Bassman amp oldid 1204821708, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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