Phil Boutelje was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

, songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, composer

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...

, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and 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...

.

Biography

Boutelje received specialized music training at the Philadelphia Music Academy

Academy of Music (Philadelphia)

The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...

. He was a military bandmaster during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Returning to civilian life, he played piano for several jazz groups, including Nick Lucas

Nick Lucas

Nick Lucas born Dominic Nicholas Anthony Lucanese was an American singer and pioneer jazz guitarist, remembered as "the grandfather of the jazz guitar", whose peak of popularity lasted from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s.-Career:In 1922, at the age of 25, he gained renown with his hit renditions...

 in 1922 and Paul Whiteman

Paul Whiteman

Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...

. He later arranged music for the Whiteman orchestra. By the early 1930s he had been lured to Hollywood, becoming music director for Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

 and United Artists

United Artists

United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....

.

Musical contributions

Boutelje composed considerable music for film soundtracks, not always receiving credit for his contributions. However, during his career he received two Academy Award

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:...

 nominations for his film contributions (in 1939 for The Great Victor Herbert

The Great Victor Herbert

-Cast:* Allan Jones as John Ramsey* Mary Martin as Louise Hall* Walter Connolly as Victor Herbert* Lee Bowman as Dr. Richard Moore* Susanna Foster as Peggy* Judith Barrett as Marie Clark* Jerome Cowan as Barney Harris* John Garrick as Warner Bryant...

, with Arthur Lange

Arthur Lange

Arthur Lange was a United States bandleader and Tin Pan Alley composer of popular music. He composed music for over 120 films, including Grand Canary and Woman on the Run. Lange shared an Oscar nomination with Hugo Friedhofer for the film The Woman in the Window...

, and in 1943 for Hi Diddle Diddle

Hi Diddle Diddle

Hi Diddle Diddle is a black-and-white American comedy film made in 1943 directed by Andrew L. Stone and starring Adolphe Menjou, Martha Scott, Dennis O'Keefe, June Havoc, Billie Burke, and Pola Negri....

).

Boutelje became a member of ASCAP in 1930. His chief musical collaborators included Ned Washington

Ned Washington

Ned Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...

, Dick Winfree, Harry Tobias

Harry Tobias

Harry Tobias was an American lyricist. Like his younger brother Charles, he is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame....

, Rubey Cowan, Foster Carling and Al Dubin

Al Dubin

Alexander "Al" Dubin was an American lyricist. He became known through his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren.-Life and works:...

. His song compositions include "China Boy

China Boy

"China Boy" is a 1922 popular song written by Phil Boutelje and Dick Winfree. It was introduced in vaudeville by Henry E. Murtagh and popularized by Paul Whiteman's 1929 Columbia recording featuring Bix Beiderbecke...

", "Blue Dawn" and "Lonesome".

Later life

In 1975 Boutelje married actress Babe London

Babe London

Babe London was an American actress and comedian, most remembered for her onetime-only partnership with Oliver Hardy, in the 1931's Laurel and Hardy's two-reeler Our Wife.-Career:...

, whom he met after both retired to the Motion Picture Country Home at Woodland Hills, California. The Bouteljes lived their final years at the home, and he died there in 1979.