Leon Steven Klatzkin (1914–1992) was an American music arranger,
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
, and conductor remembered for his long career in the Hollywood motion picture and television industries.
A prolific film and television composer, orchestra conductor, soundtrack orchestrator and arranger, Klatzkin worked in the music department of the Hal Roach Studios as a musician for eight years, afterwards working throughout Hollywood, notably for 20th Century-Fox. Klatzkin joined ASCAP in 1952, and his list of compositions there numbers over 600, nearly all of them themes for film and television. In the 1960s, Klatzkin was under contract to CBS television, and composed and arranged for many shows there, including 84 episodes of the popular western series
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
.
The opening and closing theme of the TV series ''
Adventures of Superman'' is credited to Leon Klatzkin. Despite ASCAP and the ''Los Angeles Times'' listing his many compositions for television shows,
some suggest that Klatzkin was nothing more than a Mutel employee; A film cutter who helped editors select appropriate tracks for their pictures. There is a veritable industry dedicated to the attribution of the Superman theme to various other composers. Klatzkin reached a settlement with John Williams over Williams' appropriation of the Superman theme - With proceeds going to a children's charity. The dispute with Williams appears to have inspired the noted disparagement.
Selected filmography
* ''
Inner Sanctum'' (1948)
* ''
As You Were'' (1951)
* ''
Captain Scarface
''Captain Scarface'' is a 1953 American thriller film directed by Paul Guilfoyle.
Plot
In the waters off South America, the Soviets torpedo the tramp steamer and banana boat SS ''Baños'' and murder the survivors with the cooperation of the shi ...
'' (1953)
* ''
Go, Johnny, Go!
''Go, Johnny, Go!'' is a 1959 rock and roll film starring Alan Freed as a talent scout searching for a future rock and roll star. Co-starring in the film are Jimmy Clanton, Sandy Stewart, and Chuck Berry. The film has also been released as ''Joh ...
'' (1959)
References
Bibliography
* Terrace, Vincent. ''Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2012''. McFarland, 2013.
External links
*
Classic 50's TV Themes'
*
1914 births
1992 deaths
American composers
{{US-composer-20thC-stub