Charles Previn
Encyclopedia
Charles Previn was an American
film composer who was highly active at Universal
in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. Before going to Hollywood, Previn had arranged music for over 100 Broadway productions.
From 1936 to 1944, Previn was musical director at Universal
, overseeing everything from horror pictures to Arabian Nights
fantasies. He was the great-uncle of German-born composer, pianist, conductor Andre Previn
and TV and film director Steve Previn
(brothers).
While at Universal, Previn composed uncredited stock music for several studio's releases.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film composer who was highly active at Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. Before going to Hollywood, Previn had arranged music for over 100 Broadway productions.
From 1936 to 1944, Previn was musical director at Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, overseeing everything from horror pictures to Arabian Nights
Arabian Nights (1942 film)
Arabian Nights is a 1942 adventure film starring Sabu, Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Leif Erickson and directed by John Rawlins. The film is derived from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights but owes more to the imagination of Universal Pictures than the original Arabian stories...
fantasies. He was the great-uncle of German-born composer, pianist, conductor Andre Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
and TV and film director Steve Previn
Steve Previn
Stephen Wolf Previn was a German-born American director of television episodes and feature films and film production executive. Previn began his film career in 1943 as an editor for MGM and later Universal Studios. In 1950, he moved to Europe...
(brothers).
Secondary, collegiate, and conservatory education
- Graduated from Brooklyn High SchoolBrooklyn Technical High SchoolBrooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech or just Tech, and also administratively as High School 430, is a New York City public high school that specializes in engineering, math and science and is the largest specialized high school for science, technology, engineering, and...
- 1910 — Bachelors degree, Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
- Masters degree from New York College of Music
- 1947 — Ithaca Conservatory of Music awarded Previn an honorary doctorate
Professional career
- Musician and conductor of vaudevilleVaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and musical comedy - Conductor of the St. Louis Municipal Opera
- Conductor on the NBC radio series Silken Strings from 1934 through 1936
- 1936-1944 – Musical director, arranger, composer and conductor at UniversalUniversal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. While there, Previn accumulated over 225 films to his credit, including most of Deanna DurbinDeanna DurbinDeanna 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....
's films. - 1944 – Previn began working at other studios
- 1945-1947 – Previn succeeded Ernö RapéeErno RapeeErnö Rapée was one of the most prolific American symphonic conductors in the first half of the 20th Century...
as music director/conductor of the Radio City Music HallRadio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
Symphony - 1947 – Previn returned to Hollywood and worked at Eagle-Lion and MGM
- 1953 – Previn retired
While at Universal, Previn composed uncredited stock music for several studio's releases.
Oscar Award
- Best Score (1937) — One Hundred Men and a GirlOne Hundred Men and a GirlOne Hundred Men and a Girl is a 1937 musical comedy film, written by Charles Kenyon, Bruce Manning and James Mulhauser from a story by Hanns Kräly and directed by Henry Koster...
- Musical Director
Academy Award nominations
- Best Score (1938) — Mad About MusicMad About MusicMad About Music is a 1938 musical film about a girl at an exclusive boarding school who invents an exciting father. When her schoolmates doubt his existence, she has to produce him...
(w. Frank Skinner) - Best Score (1939) — First LoveFirst Love (1939 film)First Love is a 1939 Oscar nominated Universal musical film directed by Henry Koster. The film is a rewriting of the fairy tale Cinderella. It was released on both VHS and DVD .-Plot:...
- Best Score (1940) — Spring Parade
- Scoring of a Musical Picture (1941) — Buck PrivatesBuck PrivatesBuck Privates is the 1941 comedy/World War II film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bonafide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team made two more service comedies before the United States entered the war...
- Scoring of a Musical Picture (1942) — It Started With EveIt Started with EveIt Started with Eve is a 1941 musical romantic comedy film. A man's dying father wants to meet his new fiancée, but she is unavailable, so he substitutes a hat-check girl. Then the father unexpectedly recovers.Charles Previn and Hans J...
(w. Hans J. SalterHans J. SalterHans J. Salter was an American film composer.Hans J. Salter gained his education from the Vienna Academy Of Music, and studied composition with Alban Berg, Franz Schreker, and others. He was Music Director of the State Opera in Berlin before being hired to compose music at UFA studios...
) - Scoring of a Musical Picture (1944) — Song of the Open RoadSong of the Open RoadSong of the Open Road is a 1944 musical comedy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon, from a screenplay by Irving Phillips and Edward Verdier.-Overview:...
Parents
- Father: Rabbi Morris Previn (December 1860, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
– 16 August 1929 BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
) - Mother: Henrietta Previn (September 1859, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- September 1948 New York, NY)
-
- Morris and Henrietta were married in about 1880. Morris Previn was a rabbi at Ascha-Shorem on 78 Ten Eyck Street in Brooklyn.
Siblings
- Rosie (December 1882, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
– May 1948, New York, NY)
-
- MARRIED NAMES
- Rose Meyer (married Dr. Joseph H. Meyer)
- Leo Previn (3 August 1884, Graudenz, Germany – February 1954, New York, NY)
- Arthur Gerald Previn (14 February 1886 Germany – July 1969, Falls Church, VirginiaFalls Church, VirginiaThe City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...
) - Bessie (born October 1892, New YorkNew YorkNew 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...
)
- MARRIED NAMES
- Bessis Landau (married Saul Albert Landau 19 November 1914 Manhattan, NY)
- Bess Nathanson
- Bess Kurtzman
- Jules Previn (23 July 1894, ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
– January 1976, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
) - William Oliver Previn (19 June 1896 New YorkNew YorkNew 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...
– 16 August 1978 Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
) - Stanley S. Previn (3 August 1899 – November 1973, Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
)
- Jules Previn (23 July 1894, Connecticut