Morton Stevens (January 30, 1929 – November 11, 1991) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

composer. In 1965, he became director of music for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

West Coast operations. He is probably best known for composing the theme music for ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'', a

television series for which he won two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s in 1970 and 1974. Stevens was taught by

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning composer

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...

, with whom he frequently collaborated on other projects.

Biography

Stevens graduated from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

in 1950, and within a few years began working as an arranger/conductor for

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

After Davis's longtime conductor, George Rhodes, died in 1985, Stevens was among those who filled that role again sporadically until Davis' death in 1990. In his later years, Stevens worked as conductor for other Vegas legends, including

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

, and was musical director for the "

Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...

" tour featuring Davis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and—after Martin quit—

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

. His classic theme for ''

'' was later re-recorded for the remake of the television series in 2010. He won two

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. Starting in 2019, the category recognizes scripted programs. Unscripted programs compete for Music Composition for a Documentary ...

for his work on ''Hawaii Five-O'' and was nominated seven other times for work on television programs, including the 1969 ''Hawaii Five-O'' pilot episode, ''

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 ...

'' and '' Police Woman''. His film work included scores for films and TV movies such as ''

Wild and Wonderful ''Wild and Wonderful'' is a 1964 comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Tony Curtis and Christine Kaufmann. The screenplay concerns a clever French poodle named Monsieur Cognac, and the dog's effect on the newly married couple ...

'' (1964), ''

The Spy with My Face ''The Spy with My Face'' is a 1965 spy-fi spy film based on ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' television series. Robert Vaughn and David McCallum reprised their roles as secret agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin respectively. THRUSH tries to steal ...

'' (1965), '' Deadly Harvest'' (1972), ''

The Strangers in 7A ''The Strangers in 7A'' is a 1972 American made-for-television thriller drama film directed by Paul Wendkos and starring Andy Griffith, Ida Lupino, and Michael Brandon. It is based on the 1971 novel of the same title by Fielden Farrington and ...

'' (1972), ''

The Horror at 37,000 Feet ''The Horror at 37,000 Feet'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror television film directed by David Lowell Rich. The film stars Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, Tammy Grimes, William Shatner, and Paul Winfield. It centers on hapless passengers and ...

'' (1973), ''

The Disappearance of Flight 412 ''The Disappearance of Flight 412'' is a 1974 made-for-television science fiction drama film starring Glenn Ford, Bradford Dillman, David Soul and Guy Stockwell. The film was shown as an NBC World Premiere Movie in 1974. Plot U.S. Air Force Colon ...

'' (1974), '' Code Name: Diamond Head'' (1977), ''

Wheels A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

'' (1978), ''

The One Man Jury ''The One Man Jury'' (released as ''The Loner'' on UK video) is a 1978 American neo-noir film directed by Charles Martin (1910-1983) and starring Jack Palance, Christopher Mitchum, Pamela Shoop, and Cara Williams. Plot Jim Wade (Jack Palance) i ...

'' (1978), ''Women in White'' (1979), '' Great White'' (1982) '' They Still Call Me Bruce'' (1987), ''

Act of Piracy ''Act of Piracy'' is a 1988 American/South African thriller film directed by John Cardos and starring Gary Busey, Belinda Bauer and Ray Sharkey. While enjoying an exotic cruise to Australia, a family yacht is taken over by terrorists. It is also ...

'' (1988) and the

films '' Hardly Working'' (1980), ''

Slapstick of Another Kind ''Slapstick of Another Kind'' is a 1984 American comic science fiction film starring Jerry Lewis, Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman. It was filmed in 1982, and released in March 1984 by both The S. Paul Company/Serendipity Entertainment Releasing ...

'' (1982) and '' Cracking Up'' (1983). In addition to "

", Stevens worked on the earlier smash 1960s CBS Television series dealing with an island of a different kind: "

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...

", 1964-1967, collaborating on the series with

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 ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

Gerald Fried Gerald Fried (born February 13, 1928) is an American composer, conductor, and oboist known for his film and television scores. He composed music for well-known television series of the 1960s and 70s, including ''Mission: Impossible'', ''Gilliga ...

Frank Comstock Frank G. Comstock (September 20, 1922 – May 21, 2013) was an American composer, arranger, conductor and trombonist. For television, Comstock wrote and arranged music for major situation comedies and variety shows; his theme and incidental musi ...

, 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, ...

. A musical cue by Stevens from ''Hawaii Five-O'' was adapted into the introductory music used to accompany the logo for CBS specials from 1973 to 1991. Stevens also composed "So Old, So Young", used as the theme music (in two separate arrangements) for CBS'

primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

(from 1966 to 1978) and late night (from 1972 to 1985) movie broadcasts. Stevens died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

in Encino, California at the age of 62.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Morton 1929 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American male musicians American film score composers 20th-century American Jews American television composers Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from pancreatic cancer Hawaii Five-O Juilliard School alumni American male film score composers Male television composers Musicians from Newark, New Jersey