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Alex North Biography (1910-1991)

Born December 4, 1910, in Chester, PA; died of pancreatic cancer, September 8, 1991, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Jesse (a blacksmith) and Bela (Suifer) North; married Annemarie Hollger, c. 1940; children: Steven, Elissa, Dylan.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Birth Details

December 4, 1910

Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Death Details

September 8, 1991

Los Angeles, California, United States

Famous Works

• Credits; FILM WORK
• Music director, Lost in the Stars, American Film Theatre, 1973.
• Music director and adaptor, Somebody Killed Her Husband (also see below),Martin Poll, 1979.
• Music director, Wiseblood (also see below), Ithaca, 1980.
• Writings;FILM SCORES
• A Streetcar Named Desire, Warner Bros., 1951.
• The 13th Letter, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1951.
• Death of a Salesman (also see below), Columbia, 1951.
• Viva Zapata!, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1952.
• Les Miserables, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1952.
• Pony Soldier, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1952.
• The Member of the Wedding, Columbia, 1953.
• Go, Man, Go!, United Artists (UA), 1954.
• Desiree, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1954.
• The Racers, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1955.
• Unchained Melody (lyrics by Hy Zaret), Warner Bros., 1955.
• Man With the Gun, UA, 1955.
• The Rose Tattoo, Paramount, 1955.
• I'll Cry Tomorrow, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1956.
• The Bad Seed, Warner Bros., 1956.
• The Rainmaker, Paramount, 1956.
• Four Girls in Town, Universal, 1956.
• The King and Four Queens, UA, 1956.
• The Bachelor Party, UA, 1957.
• The Long, Hot Summer, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958.
• Stage Struck, RKO Radio Pictures, 1958.
• Hot Spell, Paramount, 1958.
• South Sea Adventure, Cinerama, 1958.
• The Sound and the Fury, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1959.
• The Wonderful Country, UA, 1959.
• Spartacus, Universal, 1960.
• The Children's Hour, UA, 1961.
• The Misfits, UA, 1961.
• Sanctuary, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1961.
• All Fall Down, MGM, 1962.
• Cleopatra, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1963.
• The Outrage, MGM, 1964.
• Cheyenne Autumn, Warner Bros., 1965.
• The Agony and the Ecstasy, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1965.
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Warner Bros., 1966.
• The Devil's Brigade, UA, 1968.
• The Shoes of the Fisherman, MGM, 1968.
• A Dream of Kings, National General, 1969.
• Hard Contract, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1969.
• Willard, Cinerama, 1971.
• Pocket Money, Newman-Forman, 1972.
• Once Upon a Scoundrel, Carlyle Productions, 1972.
• Rebel Jesus, American International, 1972.
• Lost in the Stars, Ely Landau, 1973.
• Shanks, Paramount, 1974.
• Journey Into Fear, New World, 1974.
• Bite the Bullet, Columbia, 1975.
• Passover Plot, Atlas Films, 1976.
• Somebody Killed Her Husband, Martin Poll, 1979.
• Wiseblood, Ithaca, 1980.
• Carny, Lorimar, 1980.
• Dragonslayer, Paramount, 1981.
• Under the Volcano, Ithaca, 1984.
• Prizzi's Honor, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1985.
• Good Morning, Vietnam, Buena Vista, 1987.
• The Dead, Vestron/Zenith, 1987.
• The Penitent, New Century/Vista, 1988.
• Other films include Le Cri du Papillon, 1991, John Huston and the Dubliners, and Space Odyssey. The song "Unchained Melody" appears in the films Baby,It's You, 1983, Ghost, 1990, and Naked Gun 2 1/2.
• Composer of scores for the documentary films China Strikes Back, 1936; Heart of Spain, 1937; People of the Cumberland, 1938; Venezuela (includes "Election," "Sports," and "Recreation"), 1939; Mount Vernon, 1940; Rural Life, 1940; City Pastorale, 1942; The Library of Congress, 1945; Coney Island U.S.A.,1950; Decision for Chemistry, 1953; and The American Road, 1953.
• Writings;TELEVISION MUSIC; EPISODIC
• "Wall Street" (ballet), Show of Shows, NBC, 1953.
• Writings;OTHER TELEVISION MUSIC
• Theme music, Playhouse 90 (series), CBS, 1960.
• The F. D. Roosevelt Series, ABC, 1961.
• Africa (special), ABC, 1969.
• Silent Night (special), ABC, 1970.
• Rich Man, Poor Man (mini-series), ABC, 1976.
• The Word, CBS, 1978.
• Death of a Salesman (also see below), CBS, 1985.
• Composer of the music for The Billy Rose Show, 1950; Man and the City, 1972; Sister-Sister, 1982; Nero Wolfe, and I'm a Lawyer.
• Writings;STAGE MUSIC
• Slaughter of the Innocents (ballet), Guild Theatre, New York City, 1937.
• American Lyric (ballet), Guild Theatre, 1937.
• Life and Death of an American, Maxine Elliott's Theatre, New York City, 1939.
• 'Tis of Thee (revue), Maxine Elliott's Theatre, 1940.
• You Can't Sleep Here (revue), Barbizon-Plaza Theatre, New York City, 1941.
• Clay Ritual (ballet), Avery Museum, Hartford, CT, 1942.
• The Great Campaign, Princess Theatre, New York City, 1947.
• O'Daniel, Princess Theatre, 1947.
• Death of a Salesman, Morosco Theatre, New York City, 1949, revived at LosAngeles Theatre Center, Los Angeles, CA, 1989-90.
• The Innocents, Playhouse Theatre, New York City, 1950.
• A Streetcar Named Desire (ballet), Her Majesty's Theatre, Montreal, Quebec, then Century Theatre, New York City, 1952, revived at City Center Theatre,New York City, 1982.
• Richard III, City Center Theatre, 1953.
• Coriolanus, Phoenix Theatre, New York City, 1954.
• Mal de Siecle (ballet), Brussels World's Fair, Brussels, Belgium, 1958.
• Other plays include Dog Beneath the Skin, 1936; Blow Your Top, 1943; thepageant Song of Our City, 1946; the musical The Queen of Sheba, 1950, and TheAmerican Clock. Plays for young people include the revue Of V We Sing, American Youth Theatre, 1941; The City Sings for Michael, 1940; the opera The Hither and Thither of Danny Dither, 1941; and Yank and Christopher Columbus, 1948. Composer for the ballets Exile and Golden Fleece, both Mansfield Theatre, 1941; Ballad in a Popular Style and Case History, 1933; Into the Streets and Song of Affirmation, 1934; Facade, 1935; War Is Beautiful, 1936; The Last Waltz, 1937; Inquisition, 1938; Lupe, 1940; Design for Five, 1941; Intersection,1947; and Daddy Long Legs Dream Ballet, 1955.
• Writings;OTHER COMPOSITIONS
• Songs include "To My Son," 1936; "Valley Forge," 1938; "Down in the Clover," 1941; "There's a Nation," 1942; "Elegy," 1946; "I Belong to You," 1953; (with Hal David) "Vino Vino," 1955; (with Paul Francis Webster) "Handful of Dreams," 1958; (with Sam Cahn) "Hey Eula," 1959; "The One Love," 1960; (with Johnny Mercer) "Out of Time, Out of Space," 1960; (with Harold Adamson) "Restless Love," 1961; "World of Love," 1963; and (with Johnny Mercer) "The Nile," 1963. Instrumental compositions include Holiday Set, 1948; Revue for clarinetand orchestra; Pastime Suite for clarinet and piano; Twleve Dance Preludes for solo piano; the children's pieces "Little Indian Drum" and "The Waltzing Elephant" for narrator and orchestra; and three symphonies, 1947, 1968, 1971. Composer of the cantatas for chorus and orchestra Morning Star, 1947, and Negro Mother, 1948.

Further Reference

PERIODICALS

• America, September, 1984.
• Christian Science Monitor, March 25, 1986.
• High Fidelity, September, 1963; July, 1975; July, 1981; May, 1982.
• Hollywood Reporter, January 22, 1988.
• New Republic, June 18, 1984.
• New Yorker, July 13, 1981; February 1, 1982; July 9, 1984.
• New York Times, March 30, 1986.
• Rolling Stone, March 5, 1981.
• Stereo Review, January, 1981.
• Variety, September 16, 1991, p. 102.