Paul Smith (composer)
Encyclopedia
Paul J. Smith was an Academy Award-winning American music composer. He was born in Calumet, Michigan
. Smith spent much of his life working at Disney as composer for many of its films' scores, animated and live-action alike, movie and television alike (from 1962 to 1963, he also composed music for Leave It to Beaver
). In Fantasia
, he is one of the studio employees in the orchestra. He also composed the scores for several of the True-Life Adventures episodes. His main collaborator and partner was Hazel "Gil" George. She wrote the song title for The Light in the Forest
with him and Lawrence Edward Watkin
. Smith also did the stock music for the Blondie
series of the late 1940s and early 1950s. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Score
for Pinocchio
. He died in Glendale, California
at age 78.
In 1994, he was posthumously honored as a Disney Legend.
Calumet, Michigan
Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the Calumet Downtown Historic District, listed on the National...
. Smith spent much of his life working at Disney as composer for many of its films' scores, animated and live-action alike, movie and television alike (from 1962 to 1963, he also composed music for Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
). In Fantasia
Fantasia (film)
Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
, he is one of the studio employees in the orchestra. He also composed the scores for several of the True-Life Adventures episodes. His main collaborator and partner was Hazel "Gil" George. She wrote the song title for The Light in the Forest
The Light in the Forest (film)
The Light in the Forest is a 1958 film based on a novel of the same name first published in 1953 by U.S. author Conrad Richter. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and starred Fess Parker, Joanne Dru, James MacArthur and Wendell Corey. Though it is a work of fiction and primarily...
with him and Lawrence Edward Watkin
Lawrence Edward Watkin
Lawrence Edward Watkin was an American author and scriptwriter. He has become known especially as a scriptwriter for a series of Walt Disney films of the 1950s....
. Smith also did the stock music for the Blondie
Blondie (film)
Blondie is a 1938 movie directed by Frank Strayer, based on the comic strip of the same name. The screenplay was written by Chic Young and Richard Flournoy....
series of the late 1940s and early 1950s. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
for Pinocchio
Pinocchio (1940 film)
Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
. He died in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
at age 78.
In 1994, he was posthumously honored as a Disney Legend.
Animation scores
- Thru the MirrorThru the MirrorThru the Mirror is a Mickey Mouse cartoon short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, released by United Artists in 1936. In this cartoon short, Mickey has a Through the Looking-Glass-type dream that he travels through his mirror and enter a topsy-turvy world where everything is alive...
, 1936 - Don DonaldDon DonaldDon Donald is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon follows Donald Duck attempting to woo a female Mexican duck named Donna. It was directed by Ben Sharpsteen and features music by Paul J...
, 1937 - Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
, 1937 - The Practical PigThe Practical PigThe Practical Pig is a Silly Symphonies cartoon. Released on February 24, 1939, and directed by Dick Rickard. It was the second-to-last Silly Symphony made, and the fourth and final cartoon starring The Three Pigs...
, 1939 - PinocchioPinocchio (1940 film)Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
, 1940 - Bone Trouble, 1940
- FantasiaFantasia (film)Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
, 1940 (violinist in orchestra) - Fire ChiefFire chiefFire Chief is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department, either elected or appointed...
, 1940 - Pluto's Playmate, 1941
- Canine Caddy, 1941
- A Gentleman's GentlemanA Gentleman's GentlemanA Gentleman's Gentleman is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Eric Blore, Marie Lohr and Peter Coke. It was made at Teddington Studios and was based on a play by Philip MacDonald.-Cast:* Eric Blore - Heppelwhite...
, 1941 - Donald Gets DraftedDonald Gets DraftedDonald Gets Drafted is a 1942 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon has Donald Duck being drafted into the U. S. Army during World War II and follows his introduction to military life. The film was directed by Jack King and...
, 1942 - BambiBambiBambi is a 1942 American animated film directed by David Hand , produced by Walt Disney and based on the book Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten...
, 1942 (orchestrator) - Saludos AmigosSaludos AmigosSaludos Amigos is a 1942 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the 6th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It is the first of six package films made by the Disney studio in the 1940s...
, 1943 - Fall Out Fall InFall Out Fall InFall Out Fall In is a Walt Disney cartoon starring Donald Duck. It was released on April 23, 1943 by RKO Radio Pictures. The film's title is a reference to a military command meaning to create an organized formation of soldiers at regular intervals. "Fall Out" is the command given to dissolve the...
, 1943 - Victory Through Air PowerVictory Through Air PowerVictory Through Air Power is a 1942 non-fiction book by Alexander P. de Seversky. It was made into a 1943 Walt Disney animated feature film of the same name: Victory Through Air Power.-Theories:...
, 1943 - The Old Army GameThe Old Army GameThe Old Army Game is a Walt Disney cartoon starring Donald Duck. It was released on November 5, 1943 by RKO Radio Pictures.-Synopsis:Black Pete walks through the camp as he inspects it and tells himself "Hmm, the camp sure is peaceful tonight" and goes through the cabins to see the soldiers...
, 1943 - Home Defense, 1943
- Donald's Off Day, 1944
- Tiger Trouble, 1945
- The Three CaballerosThe Three CaballerosThe Three Caballeros is a 1944 American animated feature film, produced by Walt Disney and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on February 3, 1945...
, 1945 - The Eyes Have ItThe Eyes Have ItThe Eyes Have It may refer to:* The Eyes Have It, a 1945 Disney animated short starring Donald Duck and Pluto* "The Eyes Have It", the first of the Lord Darcy stories by Randall Garrett* "The Eyes Have It" , by Ruskin Bond...
, 1945 - Californy'er Bust, 1945
- Hockey HomicideHockey Homicide-Synopsis:Narrator Doodles Weaver explains the rules of ice hockey in satirical format. The narration's emphasis on good sportsmanship is countered by the violence of the players...
, 1945 - Song of the SouthSong of the SouthSong of the South is a 1946 American musical film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is based on the Uncle Remus cycle of stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The live actors provide a sentimental frame story, in which Uncle Remus relates the folk tales of the...
, 1946 (cartoon segments) - Fun and Fancy FreeFun and Fancy FreeFun and Fancy Free is a 1947 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures on September 27, 1947. It was one of the "package films" that the studio produced in the 1940s...
, 1947 - Mail Dog, 1947
- Melody TimeMelody TimeMelody Time is a 1948 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of several sequences set to popular music and folk music, the film is, like Make Mine Music before it, the popular music version of Fantasia Melody Time is a 1948...
, 1948 (Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed) - So Dear to My HeartSo Dear to My HeartSo Dear to My Heart is a 1948 feature film produced by Walt Disney, released in Chicago on November 29, 1948 and nationwide on January 19, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. Like 1946's Song of the South, the film combines animation and live action...
, 1949 - Toy TinkersToy TinkersToy Tinkers is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on December 16, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures. Set during Christmas time, the film shows Chip 'n' Dale trying to steal nuts from Donald Duck's home using toy weapons...
, 1949 - CinderellaCinderella (1950 film)Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi,...
, 1950 - Trailer Horn, 1950
- Puss Cafe, 1950
- Motor ManiaMotor ManiaMotor Mania is a cartoon made by Walt Disney Productions in 1950. In this madcap motoring animation, Goofy transforms into a Mr. Hyde-type split personality, when he gets behind the wheel and provides the lowdown on how not to drive safely.-Synopsis:The cartoon shows how the character, as the...
, 1950 - Pests of the West, 1950
- Food For Feudin', 1950
- Hook, Lion and Sinker, 1950
- Camp Dog, 1950
- Hold That Pose, 1950
- Lion Down, 1951
- Dude Duck, 1951
- Test Pilot Donald, 1951
- Lucky NumberLucky numberIn number theory, a lucky number is a natural number in a set which is generated by a "sieve" similar to the Sieve of Eratosthenes that generates the primes.Begin with a list of integers starting with 1:...
, 1951 - R'Coon Dawg, 1951
- Get Rich Quick, 1951
- Cold TurkeyCold Turkey (film)Cold Turkey is a 1971 satirical comedy film. It stars Dick Van Dyke plus a long list of comedic actors, several of whom are well known to North American television audiences...
, 1951 - Fathers Are People, 1951
- Out of Scale, 1951
- No SmokingNo SmokingNo Smoking is a cartoon made by Walt Disney Productions in 1951, featuring Goofy. This cartoon is another episode of the "Goofy the Everyman" series of the 1950s...
, 1951 - Two-Gun Goofy, 1952
- Susie the Little Blue CoupeSusie the Little Blue CoupeSusie the Little Blue Coupe is an animated short film released theatrically by Walt Disney Studios on 6 June 1952. The eight-minute film was directed by Clyde Geronimi and based on an original short-story by Bill Peet...
, 1952 - The Little HouseThe Little HouseThe Little House is the title of a 1942 book written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton.-Inspiration:Author Virginia Lee Burton has stated that "The Little House was based on our own little house which we moved from the street into "a field of daisies with apple trees growing around." Burton...
, 1952 - Trick or TreatTrick or TreatTrick or Treat is a 1952 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon, which takes place on Halloween night, follows a series of pranks between Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie who are aided by Witch Hazel...
, 1952 - Father's Day Off, 1953
- The Simple ThingsThe Simple ThingsThe Simple Things is a 1953 animated short subject, part of the Mickey Mouse series, produced by Walt Disney Productions. Released by RKO Radio Pictures on April 18, 1953, the short is notable as the final regular entry in the Mickey Mouse theatrical cartoon series...
, 1953
Live-action scores (not counting TV)
- Glamour GirlGlamour GirlGlamour Girl is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring Gene Gerrard, Lesley Brook, Ross Landon, Betty Lynne and Leslie Weston. A commercial photographer leaves his job to become a painter, using his secretary as a model....
, 1948 - The Strange Mrs. Crane, 1948
- Love HappyLove HappyLove Happy was the 14th and last starring feature for the Marx Brothers. The film stars Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, and, in a smaller role than usual, Groucho Marx, plus Ilona Massey, Vera-Ellen, Paul Valentine, Marion Hutton, Raymond Burr, Bruce Gordon , and Eric Blore, with a walk-on by Marilyn Monroe...
, 1949 - In Beaver ValleyIn Beaver ValleyIn Beaver Valley is a 1950 short documentary film directed by James Algar. The film was produced by Walt Disney as part of the True-Life Adventures series of nature documentaries.-Awards:...
, 1950 includes "Jing-a-Ling", lyrics added by Don RayeDon RayeDon Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for... - Pecos RiverPecos RiverThe headwaters of the Pecos River are located north of Pecos, New Mexico, United States, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County. The river flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it...
, 1951 - About Face, 1952
- Water BirdsWater BirdsWater Birds is a 1952 short documentary film directed by Ben Sharpsteen. It won an Academy Award in 1953 for Best Short Subject . The film was produced by Walt Disney as part of the True-Life Adventures series of nature documentaries...
, 1952 - The Living DesertThe Living DesertThe Living Desert is a 1953 American nature documentary film which shows the everyday lives of the animals of the desert of the southwestern United States. The movie was written by James Algar, Winston Hibler, Jack Moffitt and Ted Sears. It was directed by Algar, with Hibler as the narrator...
, 1953 - The Vanishing PrairieThe Vanishing PrairieThe Vanishing Prairie was a 1954 documentary film by Walt Disney. The theme music was given a set of lyrics by Hazel "Gil" George. It rechristened as "Pioneer's Prayer" in Westward Ho, the Wagons!, a western film about pioneers on the Oregon Trail....
, 1954 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film)20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 adventure film starring Kirk Douglas as Ned Land, James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax, and Peter Lorre as Conseil. It was the first science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Productions, as well as the only science-fiction...
, 1954 - The Great Locomotive Chase, 1956
- Secrets of Life, 1956
- Westward Ho, the Wagons!Westward Ho, The Wagons!Westward Ho, the Wagons! is a 1956 live-action Disney western film, aimed at family audiences. Based on Mary Jane Carr's novel Children of the Covered Wagon, the film was produced by Bill Walsh, directed by William Beaudine, and released to theatres on December 20, 1956 by Buena Vista Distribution...
, 1956 - PerriPerriPerri is a surname or given name, and may refer to:As a surname:* Christina Perri, American singer* Fortunato N. Perri Jr., attorney* Leslie Perri , American science fiction fan, writer, and illustrator* Nick Perri, guitarist...
, 1957 - The Light in the ForestThe Light in the Forest (film)The Light in the Forest is a 1958 film based on a novel of the same name first published in 1953 by U.S. author Conrad Richter. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and starred Fess Parker, Joanne Dru, James MacArthur and Wendell Corey. Though it is a work of fiction and primarily...
, 1958 - The Shaggy Dog, 1959
- PollyannaPollyannaPollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, Pollyanna...
, 1960 - Swiss Family RobinsonSwiss Family Robinson (film)Swiss Family Robinson is a 1960 American Technicolor feature film starring John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, and Sessue Hayakawa in a tale of a shipwrecked family building an island home. The screenplay by Lowell S. Hawley was loosely based upon the 1812 novel Der Schweizerische Robinson by Johann...
, 1960 - The Parent Trap, 1961
- Moon PilotMoon PilotMoon Pilot is a 98 minute Techicolor science fiction satirical comedy released in 1962 by Buena Vista Distribution. Based on Robert Buckner's 1960 novel Starfire, it was directed by James Neilson and reflects Disney's interest in America's early space program during the John F. Kennedy...
, 1962 - Bon Voyage!Bon Voyage! (1962 film)Bon Voyage! is a 1962 Walt Disney film directed by James Neilson and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. Following their practice of the time, it was also issued as a comic book...
, 1962 - In Search of the CastawaysIn Search of the CastawaysIn Search of the Castaways is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–1868. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Édouard Riou. In 1876 it was republished by George Routledge & Sons as a three volume set titled "A Voyage Round The World"...
, 1962 - Miracle of the White StallionsMiracle of the White StallionsMiracle of the White Stallions is a 1963 film released by Walt Disney starring Robert Taylor , Lilli Palmer, and Eddie Albert. It is the story of the evacuation of the Lipizzaner horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna during World War II.Major parts of the movie were shot in the...
, 1963 - Yellowstone Cubs, 1963
- Ida the Offbeat Eagle, 1964
- The Three Lives of ThomasinaThe Three Lives of ThomasinaThe Three Lives of Thomasina is a 1964 British-American Disney fantasy feature film starring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, and child actress Karen Dotrice in a story about a cat and her influence on a family. The screenplay was written by Robert Westerby and Paul Gallico and was based upon...
, 1964