Morris Stoloff
Known For: Sound
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: July 30, 1898
Day of Death: April 16, 1980 (82 years old)
Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Morris W. Stoloff was a musical composer. Stoloff worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra. Stoloff worked as music director at Columbia Pictures from 1936 to 1962. Among space age pop fans, he is best remembered for his 1956 Top 10 hit that paired the swing era tune "Moonglow" with the love theme from the movie Picnic, the medley called "Moonglow and Theme from Picnic". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Stoloff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A child prodigy on the violin, Stoloff was taken under the wing of W. A. Clark. After studying with Leopold Auer for several years, Stoloff was touring the U.S. as a featured soloist at the age of 16, and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic a year later as its youngest member ever. When sound came to motion pictures, studios came looking for musicians to provide it, and Stoloff was one of the first to cross over from classical music to movies. He was the first concertmaster on Paramount Pictures' payroll, and he worked with setting up the mechanics of a system that had to provide a steady stream of music for everything from epic dramas to serials and comedy shorts. In 1936, Stoloff moved over to Columbia Pictures, where he took the title of music director, a new position unique to the studio system. As music director, he was the chief executive responsible for providing musical production support to every film the studio released. This meant matching up composers, orchestrators, conductors, musicians and recording facilities to meet the creative scope of each project as well as its schedule and budget. Stoloff often took partial credit for a picture's score when he worked closely with a particular composer to work out a theme, motifs, and melodies. As a result, he ranks among some of the most-nominated individuals in the history of the Academy Awards. He won three Oscars for best scores, including those for Cover Girl (1944), The Jolson Story (1946), and Song Without End (1960), and was nominated 14 other times. By the late 1940s, film music was beginning to be recognized on its own, and Stoloff began recording some of the more popular numbers as singles for Decca Records. When long-play albums were perfected, the studios saw the opportunity to market more than just singles to the listening audience, and soundtrack albums became a hot commodity. Stoloff exercised his privilege as musical director to record these soundtrack albums himself, working with material from the actual scores. When Frank Sinatra founded Reprise Records in the early 1960s, he hired Stoloff as musical director; the two having worked successfully before on Pal Joey (1957). One of Stoloff's most noteworthy achievements while at Reprise was the release of a set of re-recordings of great Broadway musicals, including Kiss Me, Kate with a studio cast. Stoloff died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81.
1962
1960
1959
1957
1956
1955
1954
1953
1952
1951
1950
Music Director
Born Yesterday
Music Director
Fortunes of Captain Blood
Music Director
The Fuller Brush Girl
Music Director
The Nevadan
Music Director
In a Lonely Place
Music Director
The Killer That Stalked New York
Music Director
A Woman of Distinction
Music Director
Stage to Tucson
Music Director
The Flying Missile
Music Director
Harriet Craig
Music Director
Convicted
1949
Music Director
Knock on Any Door
Music Director
All the King's Men
Music Director
Shockproof
Music Director
The Reckless Moment
Music Director
Tokyo Joe
Original Music Composer
Jolson Sings Again
Music Director
And Baby Makes Three
Music Director
Slightly French
Music Director
Miss Grant Takes Richmond
Music Director
Tell It to the Judge
Music Director
Mr. Soft Touch
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
1943
Original Music Composer
It's a Great Life
Original Music Composer
Footlight Glamour
Music Director
The Desperadoes
Music Director
The More the Merrier
Music Director
Sahara
Music Director
Destroyer
Original Music Composer
Something to Shout About
Music Director
Dangerous Blondes
Music Director
Murder in Times Square
Music Director
Appointment in Berlin
Music Director
Passport to Suez
Music Director
The Chance of a Lifetime
1942
Original Music Composer
Blondie Goes to College
Other
My Sister Eileen
Music Director
Meet the Stewarts
Music Director
Alias Boston Blackie
Music Director
Counter-Espionage
Music Director
Overland to Deadwood
Music Director
The Boogie Man Will Get You
Music Director
Submarine Raider
Music Director
Atlantic Convoy
Music Director
The Talk of the Town
Music Director
A Night to Remember
Music Director
Blondie's Blessed Event
1941
Original Music Composer
Blondie Goes Latin
Original Music Composer
The Devil Commands
Music Director
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Music Director
Penny Serenade
Music Director
The Face Behind the Mask
Music Director
Time Out for Rhythm
Music Director
The Blonde from Singapore
Music Director
Honolulu Lu
Music Director
The Devil Commands
Music Director
Secrets of the Lone Wolf
Music Director
The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance
Music Director
Ladies in Retirement
Music Director
You'll Never Get Rich
Music Director
Confessions of Boston Blackie
1940
Original Music Composer
Blondie on a Budget
Original Music Composer
Blondie Has Servant Trouble
Original Music Composer
Blondie Plays Cupid
Music Director
The Man with Nine Lives
Music Director
Girls of the Road
Music Director
His Girl Friday
Music Director
The Lone Wolf Strikes
Music Director
Island of Doomed Men
Music Director
Men Without Souls
Music Director
The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date
Music Director
The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady
Music Director
Before I Hang
Music Director
Convicted Woman
Music Director
The Doctor Takes a Wife
1939
Original Music Composer
Blondie Takes a Vacation
Music
Good Girls Go to Paris
Music Director
Only Angels Have Wings
Music Director
Golden Boy
Music Director
Mandrake the Magician
Music Director
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Music Director
The Amazing Mr. Williams
Music Director
Let Us Live
Music Director
The Man They Could Not Hang
Music Director
The Lady and the Mob
