Albert Harris (13 February 1916 – 14 February 2005) was an English musician who worked most of his life in Hollywood as an

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

, arranger and composer for several of the big Film Studios and for such pop icons as

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

and Cher. Harris was born in London and studied piano from age 6 and was also a self-taught guitarist; his knowledge of this instrument enabled him in later years to compose pieces specifically for guitar (his ''Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel'' was recorded by

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students. Segovia's contribution to the m ...

). During the mid-1930s he began to make a name for himself as a session musician in London where he featured on many recordings, most notably as session guitarist with the Lew Stone band, his delicate but swinging improvisations enhancing many of Stones records during the 1934-35 period. He came to New York in 1938 at which time he started playing piano in big bands across the U.S., after which he began studying at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

's College of Music where he earned a doctorate in music in 1944. Before earning his doctorate he moved to Los Angeles in 1942. Albert Harris studied composition with Mary Carr Moore and Eugen Zador in Los Angeles, and conducting with Richard Lert. He is a recipient of several awards for choral pieces, songs, and an octet for French Horn from the Los Angeles Horn Club. Albert Harris served as professor of orchestration at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. He was Assistant Musical Director for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from 1946–49. In 1959, conductor

Frank deVol Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cu ...

recorded an album of Harris's compositions, ''Bacchanal'', which was 15 pieces, each named for a Greek god. "Music Service Incorporated" (MSI) was formed by Harris and two colleagues (one of whom was Nelson Riddle) and was responsible for the music for four TV Shows: "

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

– Dick Van Dyke Show," "Ray Bolger Show," "

Danny Thomas Show ''The Danny Thomas Show'' (titled ''Make Room for Daddy'' for its first three seasons) is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the show f ...

," and "

Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. Th ...

." He was music director for

on the TV special "Barbra and Other Instruments," music orchestrator and arranger for Cher’s album "Bittersweet Moonlight" and was music arranger for

for appearances in Hollywood. Harris was the composer and conductor for Quinn Martin Productions, specifically "Cannon", "

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...

", " Streets of San Francisco" and "

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

." Over a period of 30 years, Mr. Harris was employed by all the major film studios as an orchestrator and composer. A popular teacher and lecturer in Los Angeles, he was invited to speak at the Santa Barbara Academy of the West by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

. While he was president of the American Society of Music Arrangers (a post he held from 1989–91), he co-lectured at a composer's workshop with

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

.Allegro Archives, 1, Volume CV No. 3, March, 2005, "Requiem" (obituaries) Albert Harris was a member of Composers and Lyricists Guild of America, on the board of directors of the American Society of Music Arrangers. He won the National Composer's Award for his "Concerto de California" scored for guitar and String Quartet. Among those nominating Harris was

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

with whom Harris shares a harmonic language that, in the words of

Ned Rorem Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althoug ...

, "sounds like the great outdoors". Harris retired from '' film'' and ''

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

'' work in 1990. He married Diane Smith, from New Zealand, in California in 1986, and the couple retired to New Zealand in 1992. He died in Auckland. He is survived by his wife Diane Harris and his sister Bette Friedman.

Selected filmography

* '' Don't Give Up'' (1947) *1955 ''Kiss Me Deadly'' *1958 ''Showdown at Boot Hill'', aka ''Shadow of Boot Hill'' *1958 ''Queen of Outer Space'', aka ''Queen of the Universe'' *1960 ''Saiyu-ki'', aka ''Alakazam the Great'' (USA), aka ''The Enchanted Monkey'', aka ''The Magic Land of Alakazam'' (USA) *1961 ''Master of the World'' *1963 ''The Raven'' *1965 ''Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine'' *1966 ''The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini'' *1970 ''Dirty Dingus Magee'' *1974-75 ''Cannon'' TV series, "Man in the Middle", "Voice from the Grave" *1979 ''The Curse of Dracula'' TV series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Albert 1916 births 2005 deaths English composers English male composers English music arrangers Musicians from London 20th-century British male musicians