Jeff Alexander (born Myer Goodhue Alexander; July 2, 1910 – December 23, 1989) was an American conductor, arranger, and composer of film, radio and television scores.

Early years

Born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Alexander began performing in his teens as a singer and dancer in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

productions. He then began playing piano and composing

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

music.

Radio

In 1939, he moved to New York City, where he arranged and composed music for radio programs, including Benny Goodman's ''

Camel Caravan A camel train or caravan is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withstand harsh condi ...

'' (as "Myer Alexander"), "The Lucky Strike Show" and "

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

". He directed the orchestra for ''Songs of George Byron'', ''Arthur's Place'', ''Thirty Minutes to Play'', ''

The Bill Goodwin Show ''The Bill Goodwin Show'' is a variety program that was broadcast on NBC television from September 11, 1951 to March 27, 1952. Schedule The program was seen on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, initially alternating days with ''The Bert Parks Sho ...

'', and the ''Borden Show''. He directed the chorus for ''The Star Theater'', ''Great Moments in Music'' and (billed as Myer Alexander) the Goodman program. His Goodman group was called "the world's only Swing Chorus".

Career

Film

In 1947, he moved to Los Angeles and began writing film and, later, television scores. His first film project was the score for ''

Shall We Dance Shall We Dance may refer to: Films * ''Shall We Dance'' (1937 film), a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical * ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996 film), a Japanese film about ballroom dancing * ''Shall We Dance?'' (2004 film), an American remake of the ...

'', and he scored many of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's films, including '' Jailhouse Rock'' (1957), ''

Kid Galahad ''Kid Galahad'' is a 1962 American musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. It was released by United Artists in August 1962 and opened at #9 at the American box office. ''Variety'' ranked it #37 on its list of the top-grossing films of 19 ...

'' (1962), '' Double Trouble'' (1967), ''

Clambake The clambake or clam bake, also known as the New England clambake, is a traditional method of cooking seafood, such as lobster, mussels, crabs, scallops, soft-shell clams, and Hard clam, quahogs. The food is traditionally cooked by steaming the i ...

'' (1967) and ''

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

'' (1968). He also composed the scores to over 30 films, including '' The Tender Trap'' (1955), ''

Ransom! ''Ransom!'' is a 1956 American crime drama film examining the reactions of parents, police, and the public to a kidnapping. Written by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume, the film is based on a popular episode of ''The United States Steel Hour'' tit ...

'' (1956), ''

The Wings of Eagles ''The Wings of Eagles'' is a 1957 American Metrocolor film starring John Wayne, Dan Dailey and Maureen O'Hara, based on the life of Frank "Spig" Wead and the history of U.S. Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is ...

'' (1957), ''

The Sheepman ''The Sheepman'' is a 1958 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, and Leslie Nielsen. Plot Gambler Jason Sweet (Ford) wins a flock of sheep in a poker game and proceeds to take them ...

'' (1958), ''

Party Girl A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

'' (1958), '' Ask Any Girl'' (1959), '' The Mating Game'' (1959), ''

The Gazebo ''The Gazebo'' is a 1959 American black comedy CinemaScope film about a married couple who are being blackmailed. It was based on the 1958 play of the same name by Alec Coppel and directed by George Marshall. Helen Rose was nominated for the A ...

'' (1959), ''

All the Fine Young Cannibals ''All the Fine Young Cannibals'' is a 1960 American film directed by Michael Anderson, based on the novel by Rosamond Marshall, starring Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton and Pearl Bailey. Hamilton said that the film ...

'' (1960), ''

The George Raft Story ''The George Raft Story'' is a 1961 American biographical film of Hollywood film star George Raft. Ray Danton portrays Raft and the film was directed by Joseph M. Newman. The picture was retitled ''Spin of a Coin'' for release in the United ...

'' (1961), '' The Rounders'' (1965), '' Day of the Evil Gun'' (1968), ''

Support Your Local Sheriff! ''Support Your Local Sheriff!'' (also known as ''The Sheriff'') is a 1969 American comedy Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring James Garner, Joan Hackett, and Walter Brennan. The supporting cast features Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, ...

'' (1969) and ''

Dirty Dingus Magee ''Dirty Dingus Magee'' is a 1970 American comedy revisionist Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Frank Sinatra as the title outlaw and George Kennedy as a sheriff out to capture him. The movie was based on the novel ''The Ballad ...

'' (1970).

Television

Alexander's many television credits include being musical director for ''

Please Don't Eat the Daisies ''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' (New York: Doubleday, 1957) is a best-selling collection of humorous essays by American humorist and playwright Jean Kerr about suburban living and raising four boys. The essays do not have a plot or through-sto ...

'' and music for ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempte ...

'', ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chroni ...

'', ''

The Mothers-In-Law ''The Mothers-in-Law'' is an American situation comedy featuring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two women who were friends and next-door neighbors until their children's elopement made them in-laws. The show aired on NBC television from Septemb ...

'', ''

Julia Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

'', and '' Columbo''. He wrote the song " Come Wander With Me" for an episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' in 1964; it was later used in the 2003 film ''

The Brown Bunny ''The Brown Bunny'' is a 2003 experimental road drama film written, directed, produced, photographed and edited by Vincent Gallo. Starring Gallo and Chloë Sevigny, it tells the story of a motorcycle racer on a cross-country drive who is haunt ...

''.

Compositions

Although credited to

Axel Stordahl Axel Stordahl (August 8, 1913 – August 30, 1963) was an American arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his work with Frank Sinatra in the 1940s at Columbia Records. With his sophisticat ...

, it was Alexander who arranged " The House I Live In" for Frank Sinatra, recorded in 1945. In 1956, Alexander contributed the tone poems "Yellow" and "Brown" to the album ''

Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color ''Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color'' is a 1956 album of short tone poems by eight notable mid-20th century Hollywood composers. The album was conducted by Sinatra and marked the first musical collaboration between Sinatra and Gordon J ...

''. He also composed a symphony and other classical pieces.

Other

In 1944, Alexander and

Lyn Murray Lyn Murray (born Lionel Breeze, August 13, 1909 – May 20, 1989) was a composer, conductor, and arranger of music for radio, film and television. Early years Born in London, Murray was the son of a violinist. Before entering a career in music, ...

, along with business manager Eugene Loewenthal, formed Murray-Alexander Associates in New York City. The business provided vocal groups, orchestras, and arrangements. Alexander was a founder of the organization Screen Composers of America.

Death

Alexander died of cancer, aged 79, at his home in

Whidbey Island, Washington Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington Sta ...

on December 23, 1989. He was survived by his daughter, Jill.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Jeff 1910 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American film score composers American music arrangers American television composers Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Imperial Records artists American male film score composers Male television composers Musicians from Seattle 20th-century American male musicians