Phil Boutelje (August 6, 1895, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

– July 29, 1979, in

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is locate ...

) was an American pianist, songwriter, composer, author and conductor.

Biography

Boutelje received specialized music training at the Philadelphia Music Academy. He was a military bandmaster during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Returning to civilian life, he played piano for several jazz groups, including

Nick Lucas Dominic Nicholas Anthony Lucanese (August 22, 1897 – July 28, 1982), known professionally as Nick Lucas, was an American jazz guitarist and singer. Known as the Crooning Troubadour, he was the first jazz guitarist to record as a soloist. His p ...

in 1922 and

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

. He later arranged music for the Whiteman orchestra. By the early 1930s he had been lured to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, becoming music director for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

and

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

Musical contributions

Boutelje composed considerable music for film soundtracks, not always receiving

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), ...

for his contributions. However, during his career he received two

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for his film contributions (in 1939 for ''

The Great Victor Herbert ''The Great Victor Herbert'' is a 1939 American musical film directed by Andrew L. Stone. During production, the movie was slated to be called ''The Gay Days of Victor Herbert.'' Plot Cast * Allan Jones as John Ramsey * Mary Martin as Louis ...

'', with

Arthur Lange Arthur Lange (April 16, 1889 – December 7, 1956) was a United States bandleader and Tin Pan Alley composer of popular music. He composed music for over 120 films, including ''Grand Canary'' and ''Woman on the Run''. Lange shared an Oscar nomin ...

, and in 1943 for ''

Hi Diddle Diddle ''Hi Diddle Diddle'' is a 1943 American comedy film made in directed by Andrew L. Stone and starring Adolphe Menjou, Martha Scott, Dennis O'Keefe, June Havoc, Billie Burke, and Pola Negri. The title is a play on the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Did ...

'').IMDB.com Boutelje became a member of

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

in 1930. His chief musical collaborators included

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

, Dick Winfree,

Harry Tobias Harry Tobias (September 11, 1895 – December 15, 1994) was an American lyricist. Like his younger brother Charles, he is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Born in New York City, United States, but raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, ...

, Rubey Cowan, Foster Carling and

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that emigrated to the United States from Swi ...

. His song compositions include "

China Boy "China Boy" is a 1922 popular song written by Phil Boutelje and Dick Winfree. Background It was introduced in vaudeville by Henry E. Murtagh and popularized by Paul Whiteman's 1929 Columbia recording featuring Bix Beiderbecke. The song has become ...

", "Blue Dawn", "Star of Hope", "Little Doll", "The Man With the Big Sombrero", "Teton Mountain Stomp", "I Loved You Too Little", "I Love You, Believe Me I Love You", "Hippy Happy Henny", "Monna Vanna", and "Lonesome".

Later life

In 1975 Boutelje married actress

Babe London Babe London (born Jean Glover, August 28, 1901 – November 29, 1980) was an American actress and comedian, most remembered for her one-time partnership with Oliver Hardy in the 1931 Laurel and Hardy two-reeler ''Our Wife''. Career Londo ...

, whom he met after both retired to the

Motion Picture Country Home The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as tempo ...

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

. The Bouteljes lived their final years at the home, and he died there in 1979.

References

Musicians from Philadelphia 1895 births 1979 deaths American military personnel of World War I 20th-century American musicians {{US-musician-stub