Fred Steiner
Encyclopedia
Fred Steiner 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
, Perry Mason
and The Bullwinkle Show. In film, Steiner was one of the team of composers for the 1985 film, The Color Purple
, which received an Oscar nomination and was an uncredited composer for Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
.
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
, Star Trek
and Rawhide
.
He received a degree in music composition from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
in 1943. He was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree from Oberlin College in 2007.
, Steiner's credits include the dramatic anthology series On Stage, CBS Radio Workshop, Suspense, and This is Your FBI
.
series to which he contributed scores, more than any other composer. 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.
Another of Steiner's works, "Park Avenue Beat", was used from 1957 to 1966 as the theme song to Perry Mason
and was re-recorded by Dick DeBenedictis
for the subsequent made-for-TV movies in 1985. 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
.
He also composed the music for the television series Dynasty
from 1982-1983 and for Hotel
in 1983.
, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
) and orchestration/adaptation (sometimes uncredited) for other composers (among them are Star Trek: The Motion Picture
(1979), and The Greatest Story Ever Told
(1965).
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, Andraé Crouch
, Chris Boardman
, Jorge Calandrelli
, Joel Rosenbaum, Jack Hayes
, Jerry Hey
, and Randy Kerber
. http://www.filmmusicsociety.org/news_events/features/images/fredsteiner.jpg
. Scholarly articles on film music appear in The Cue Sheet, Film Music Quarterly and the Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress.
, Jalisco
, Mexico
, after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. 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; 2 nieces 1 nephew 2 great nieces and 4 great nephews
two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, orchestrator, film historian and arranger for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. Steiner wrote the theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
and The Bullwinkle Show. In film, Steiner was one of the team of composers for the 1985 film, The Color Purple
The Color Purple (film)
The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as a director , and was a change from the summer blockbusters for which he had become famous...
, which received an Oscar nomination and was an uncredited composer for Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
.
Steiner was most active in television series during the 1950s and 1960s. His numerous composition credits included music for Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
, Have Gun–Will Travel, The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
and Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
.
Personal life
Steiner was born in New York City, New York.He received a degree in music composition from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
in 1943. He was awarded an honorary doctor of music degree from Oberlin College in 2007.
Radio
As a composer for radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, Steiner's credits include the dramatic anthology series On Stage, CBS Radio Workshop, Suspense, and This is Your FBI
This is Your FBI
This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953 for a total of 409 shows. FBI chief J...
.
Television
Steiner wrote for a number of television series, including the many episodes of the original Star TrekStar Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
series to which he contributed scores, more than any other composer. An article he wrote for the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, "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.
Another of Steiner's works, "Park Avenue Beat", was used from 1957 to 1966 as the theme song to Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
and was re-recorded by Dick DeBenedictis
Dick DeBenedictis
Richard “Dick” DeBenedictis is an American composer noted for composing music for television shows including Perry Mason and its movies from 1985 until 1993, Police Story, Columbo, The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-O, and Dean Hargrove's Matlock, and its spin offs Jake and the Fatman, and Diagnosis:...
for the subsequent made-for-TV movies in 1985. Steiner also composed the main theme to The Bullwinkle Show and Follow That Man and contributed music to episodes of Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
, The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, and Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories (TV series)
Amazing Stories is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987, and was somewhat erratically screened in Britain by BBC1 and BBC2 - billed in the Radio Times as "Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories" - with episodes...
.
He also composed the music for the television series Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
from 1982-1983 and for Hotel
Hotel (TV series)
Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty....
in 1983.
Feature film work
His feature film work included original music (Run for the SunRun for the Sun
Run for the Sun is a 1956 film released by United Artists, the third film to officially be based on Richard Connell's classic suspense story, "The Most Dangerous Game", after RKO's The Most Dangerous Game , which starred Joel McCrea and Fay Wray, and their remake, A Game of Death, which was...
, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a 1967 gangster film based on the 1929 Chicago mass murder of seven members of the Northside gang, directed against George "Bugs" Moran by Al Capone...
) and orchestration/adaptation (sometimes uncredited) for other composers (among them are Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
(1979), and The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 American epic film produced and directed by George Stevens and distributed by United Artists. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast and for being the last...
(1965).
His Academy Award nomination for "Best Music, Original Score" was for The Color Purple
The Color Purple (film)
The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as a director , and was a change from the summer blockbusters for which he had become famous...
(1985). It was a shared nomination with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Jeremy Lubbock, Rod Temperton
Rod Temperton
Rodney Lynn "Rod" Temperton is an English songwriter, record producer and musician most famous for writing a number of songs performed by Michael Jackson, including the title track of Jackson's Thriller, the biggest-selling album of all time.-Biography:As Temperton remembers music was in his bones...
, Caiphus Semenya, Andraé Crouch
Andrae Crouch
Andraé Crouch is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, recording artist, record producer, and pastor.-Early years:Born Andraé Edward Crouch in San Francisco, California....
, Chris Boardman
Chris Boardman
Christopher "Chris" Boardman MBE is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times, as well as winning three stages and wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France...
, Jorge Calandrelli
Jorge Calandrelli
Jorge Calandrelli is an Argentine composer, arranger and orchestrator.His truly ingenious arranging and composing techniques, especially his beautiful string writing, makes him very well recognized on many records of today's pop - jazz/ Jazz commercial record publications.Big record stars hired him...
, Joel Rosenbaum, Jack Hayes
Jack Hayes
Jack J. Hayes was an American composer and orchestrator.He was twice nominated for an Academy Award, for The Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1964 and for The Color Purple in 1985....
, Jerry Hey
Jerry Hey
Jerry Hey is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Thriller and the distinctive flugelhorn solo on Dan Fogelberg's hit Longer....
, and Randy Kerber
Randy Kerber
Randy Kerber is a composer, orchestrator, keyboard player, born September 25, 1958 in Encino, California, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema...
. http://www.filmmusicsociety.org/news_events/features/images/fredsteiner.jpg
Musicological work
Steiner held a doctorate in Musicology from the University of Southern California (1981). His thesis was about the early career of film composer Alfred NewmanAlfred Newman
Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...
. 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 AjijicAjijic
Ajijic is a town about 3 miles from, and a part of, the municipality of Chapala, in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Situated on the north shore of Lake Chapala, surrounded by mountains, Ajijic enjoys a moderate climate year round...
, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. 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; 2 nieces 1 nephew 2 great nieces and 4 great nephews
two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.