Rudolph Polk (25 November 1892

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

– 16 June 1957

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) was an American concert violinist based in New York City during his early years and, during his later years, a Hollywood film director, film industry executive, and artist manager for

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a virtuoso since childhood. Fritz ...

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all ...

José Iturbi José Iturbi Báguena (28 November 189528 June 1980) was a Spanish conductor, pianist and harpsichordist. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the musicals ''Thousands Cheer'' (1943), '' Music for Mill ...

, and

Gregor Piatigorsky Gregor Piatigorsky (, ''Grigoriy Pavlovich Pyatigorskiy''; August 6, 1976) was a Russian Empire-born American cellist. Biography Early life Gregor Piatigorsky was born in Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine) into a Jewish family. As a child, ...

. In Hollywood, Polk was the assistant musical director to

Morris Stoloff Morris W. Stoloff (August 1, 1898 – April 16, 1980) was a musical composer. Stoloff worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore, Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra. Life and career Stoloff worked as music director at Columbia Pictures from 1936 to 1962. ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. After

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, Polk was musical director for Enterprise Studios. Polk was family friends with Jacob Previn, father of

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

and

Steve Previn Stephen Wolf Previn (born Wolf Stefan Priwin; 21 October 1925 – 9 July 1993) was a German-born American director of television episodes and feature films and film production executive. Previn began his film career in 1943 as an editor for MGM an ...

Musical training

Polk graduated from the

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

in Berlin where he studied violin with

Henri Marteau Henri Marteau (31 March 1874 – 3 October 1934) was a French violinist and composer, who obtained Swedish citizenship in 1915. Life and career Marteau was born in Reims. He was of German and French ancestry. His father, a Frenchman, was a well k ...

. He performed many times with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

in the Early 1920s. He also toured with

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...

(and his longtime piano accompanyist, Fyodor Keneman) in the United States. Polk also studied composition with

Paul Juon Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

Filmography

As music supervisor * ''

They Shall Have Music ''They Shall Have Music'' is a 1939 musical film directed by Archie Mayo and starring famed violinist Jascha Heifetz (as himself), Joel McCrea, Andrea Leeds, and Gene Reynolds. The screenplay concerns a young runaway finds his purpose in life afte ...

'',

(as himself) (1939) (Polk is uncredited) As musical director * '' Body and Soul'', Enterprise Productions, Inc. (1947) * ''The Other Love'' (1947) * ''

Ramrod A ramrod (or scouring stick) is a metal or wooden device used with muzzleloading firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly blackpowder). The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was usually held i ...

'' (1947) * '' Arch of Triumph,'' Enterprise Productions, Inc. (1948) * ''

Four Faces West ''Four Faces West'' is a 1948 American Western (genre), Western film starring Joel McCrea, his real-life wife Frances Dee, and Charles Bickford. It is based on the novel ''Pasó por aquí'' by Eugene Manlove Rhodes. Its plot concerns a down-on- ...

'', Enterprise Studios (1948) * ''

No Minor Vices ''No Minor Vices'' is a 1948 American black-and-white comedy film written by Arnold Manoff and directed by Lewis Milestone with Robert Aldrich as 1st assistant director. Created for David Loew's Enterprise Productions, it was the first of three ...

'' (1948) * ''

Caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...

'', Enterprise Productions, Inc. (1949) * ''A Kiss for Corliss'' (1949) As songwriter * '' Arch of Triumph,'' Enterprise Productions, Inc. (1948) : Song: ''Long After Tonight'', music by Rudolph Polk, words by

Ervin Drake Ervin Drake (born Ervin Maurice Druckman; April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015) was an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "I Believe (1953 song), I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year". He wrote in a variet ...

(Polk is uncredited in the film) As producer * ''Adventures in Music'', Artist Films, Inc. (documentary) (1944) * ''Of Men and Music'' (documentary) (1951) * ''

Jan Peerce Jan Peerce (born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth; June 3, 1904 December 15, 1984) was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway theatre, Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recordi ...

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

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 ...

'', produced by Rudolph Polk and Bernard Luber; director,

Irving Reis Irving Reis (May 7, 1906 in New York City – July 3, 1953 in Woodland Hills, California) was a radio program producer and director, and a film director. Biography Irving Reis was born into a Jewish family.http://www.hillsidememorial.org/pdfs/Di ...

; writer, Harry Hurnitz As film scorer * ''

The Private Affairs of Bel Ami ''The Private Affairs of Bel Ami'' is a 1947 American drama film directed by Albert Lewin. The film stars George Sanders as a ruthless cad who uses women to rise in Parisian society, co-starring Angela Lansbury and Ann Dvorak. It is based on the 1 ...

'' (1947) : Polk was borrowed from Enterprise Studios to score the film * ''

Force of Evil ''Force of Evil'' is a 1948 American crime film noir starring John Garfield and directed by Abraham Polonsky. It was adapted by Polonsky and Ira Wolfert from Wolfert's novel ''Tucker's People''. Polonsky had been a screenwriter for the boxing f ...

Television

As producer * '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952 series)

Family

Rudolph married Pauline ''née'' Stone (1896–1986) in Manhattan, New York, on Mar 16, 1919. They had two children, Peter and Martha (Hamilton).

Posthumous memorial scholarship

and

helped fund the posthumous Rudolph Polk Memorial Scholarship at

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)—Pomona College, Scr ...

References

General references * ''Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 4: September 1955 – August 1958,''

H. W. Wilson Company The H. W. Wilson Company, Inc. is a publisher and indexing company that was founded in 1898 and is located in The Bronx, New York. It provides print and digital content aimed at patrons of public school, college, and professional libraries in bot ...

, New York (1960) * ''Obituaries on File,'' Two volumes, compiled by Felice D. Levy (1917–1990),''

Facts on File Infobase Publishing is an American publisher of reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent imprints, includin ...

, New York (1979) Inline citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Rudolph American male violinists Musicians from New York City Berlin University of the Arts alumni 1892 births 1957 deaths 20th-century American violinists Film directors from New York City 20th-century American male musicians