Robert Emmett Dolan

Robert Emmett Dolan (August 3, 1908 - September 26, 1972) was a Broadway conductor, composer, and arranger beginning in the 1920s. He moved on to radio in the 1930s and then went to Hollywood in the early 1940s as a musical director for Paramount. He scored, arranged, and conducted many musical and dramatic films in the 1940s and 1950s and produced three musicals. At the end of his career, he returned to the stage – where he had begun.

Life and career

Dolan was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the eldest of 12 children. He studied piano with his mother and was educated in Montreal. He received further musical education at Loyola College (now Concordia University), later studying extensively with Mortimer Wilson, Joseph Schillinger, and Ernst Toch. Dolan started out playing piano for honky-tonk dance bands and musical comedy bands, and in the 1920s began working as a musician, composer, conductor, and musical director in the theater. Some of the Broadway shows to which he contributed were ''Leave It To Me'', ''Louisiana Purchase'', ''Of Thee I Sing'', and ''Ziegfeld Follies''.

In the 1930s, he began work as a composer, conductor, and music director on radio.

He became music director for MGM in 1941 and then moved on to Paramount, where he was music director for 16 Bing Crosby pictures. He also served as composer and arranger for Ginger Rogers and Betty Hutton, and scored about 60 movies. At the end of his Paramount stay, he was promoted to producer for ''White Christmas'' (1954), ''The Girl Rush'' (1955), and ''Anything Goes'' (1956).

He joined ASCAP in 1946, often collaborating with Johnny Mercer and Walter O'Keefe in popular-song compositions. Dolan later worked in television; his work included specials and documentaries. He was a prominent member of Columbia University's music faculty, where he taught orchestration, conducting, and a film score class (based on his book, ''Music in Modern Media'').

Dolan married and divorced twice and had one son in each marriage. His first wife was dancer Vilma Ebsen, the sister of Buddy Ebsen. They were married on June 24, 1933, and divorced in January 1948. Their son's name is Robert Emmett Dolan II, also known as Bobby Dolan Jr, who appeared in ''The Bells of St. Mary's'' (1945) as Joseph in a children's Christmas play in the film.

His second wife was actress Nan Martin. They were married on March 17, 1948, and had a son, Casey Martin Dolan.

Death

Dolan died in Los Angeles on September 26, 1972, of a heart attack during his sleep. Funeral services were held there and at Columbia University in New York.

Filmography

*1941 ''Birth of the Blues'' – music composer
*1942 ''Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour'' – music composer
*1942 ''Star Spangled Rhythm'' – music composer, music director
*1942 ''Once Upon a Honeymoon'' – music composer
*1942 ''The Major and the Minor'' – music composer
*1942 ''Holiday Inn'' – music director
*1943 '' Happy Go Lucky'' – music director
*1943 ''Dixie'' – music director
*1943 ''Let's Face It'' – music director
*1944 ''Going My Way'' – music director
*1944 ''Standing Room Only'' – music composer
*1944 ''Lady in the Dark'' – music composer, music director
*1944 ''I Love a Soldier'' – music composer
*1944 ''Here Come the Waves'' – music composer
*1945 '' Bring On the Girls'' – music director
*1945 '' The Stork Club'' – music director
*1945 ''Salty O'Rourke'' – music composer
*1945 ''Road to Utopia'' – music director
*1945 ''Duffy's Tavern'' – music composer, music director
*1945 ''Murder, He Says'' – music composer
*1945 ''The Bells of St. Mary's'' – music composer
*1945 '' Incendiary Blonde'' – music director
*1946 '' Blue Skies'' – music director
*1946 '' Cross My Heart'' – music composer
*1946 '' Monsieur Beaucaire'' – music composer, music director
*1947 ''Welcome Stranger'' – music composer
*1947 '' The Trouble with Women'' – music composer
*1947 ''Road to Rio'' – music director
*1947 ''Dear Ruth'' – music composer
*1947 '' The Perils of Pauline'' – music composer
*1947 ''My Favorite Brunette'' – music composer, music director
*1948 '' Good Sam'' – music composer
*1948 ''Saigon'' – music composer, music director
*1948 ''My Own True Love'' – music composer
*1948 ''Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid'' – music composer
*1949 ''The Great Gatsby'' – music composer
*1949 '' Top o' the Morning'' – music director
*1949 ''Sorrowful Jones'' – music composer
*1950 '' Let's Dance'' – music director
*1952 ''My Son John'' – music composer
*1952 ''Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick'' – music director
*1954 '' White Christmas'' – producer
*1956 ''Anything Goes'' – producer
*1957 ''The Three Faces of Eve'' – music composer
*1959 ''The Man Who Understood Women'' – music composer

Broadway credits

*1935 ''May Wine'' – musical director
*1936 ''Forbidden Melody'' – musical director
*1937 ''Hooray for What!'' – musical director
*1938 '' Leave It To Me'' – musical director
*1939 ''Very Warm for May'' – musical director, conductor
*1940 ''Louisiana Purchase'' – musical director
*1949 '' Texas Li'l Darlin'' – composer
*1951 '' Not for Children'' – composer
*1959 ''Juno'' – musical director
*1959 '' A Loss of Roses'' – musical editor
*1964 '' Foxy'' – composer
*1969 '' Coco'' – musical director

Other credits

*1954 ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' – composer (one cue from ''Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid'' re-used)
*1955 ''The Girl Rush'' – producer
* ''Of Thee I Sing''
* ''Ziegfeld Follies''
* '' Good News''
* '' Follow Through''
* '' Flying Colors''
* '' Strike Me Pink''
* '' Hot-Cha''
* '' La Rose De France'' (Paris)
* "Your Heart Will Tell You So" (song)
* "At Last I'm in Love" (song)
* "Little by Little" (song)
* "Hullabaloo" (song)
* "Song of the Highwayman" (song)
* "You" (song)
* "Out of the Past" (song)
* "I Love You" (song)
* "And So to Bed" (song)
* "Glamour Waltz" (song)
* "Big Movie Show in the Sky" (song)
* "A Month of Sundays" (song)
* "Talk to Me, Baby" (song)

Oscar nominations

''All 8 Nominations were for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Musical Picture)'':
*1941 ''Birth of the Blues''
*1942 ''Holiday Inn''
*1943 ''Star Spangled Rhythm''
*1944 ''Lady in the Dark''
*1945 ''The Bells of St. Mary's''
*1945 '' Incendiary Blonde''
*1946 '' Blue Skies''
*1947 ''Road to Rio''

References

External links

* (last accessed May 17, 2006)

MMM Recordings Dolan bio
(last accessed May 17, 2006)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Robert E.
American film score composers
American male film score composers
American musical theatre composers
Broadway composers and lyricists
1908 births
1972 deaths
Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut
Loyola College (Montreal) alumni
20th-century classical musicians
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians