William Axt (April 19, 1888 – February 13, 1959) was an American composer of nearly two hundred

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 ...

Life and career

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Axt graduated from

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

and studied at the

National Conservatory of Music of America The National Conservatory of Music of America was an institution for higher education in music founded in 1885 in New York City by Jeannette Meyers Thurber. The conservatory was officially declared defunct by the state of New York in 1952, altho ...

. He earned a

Doctor of Musical Arts The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) is a doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-level academic study in su ...

degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1922. He studied in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

under

Xaver Scharwenka Theophil Franz Xaver Scharwenka (6 January 1850 – 8 December 1924) was a German pianist, composer and teacher of Polish descent. He was the brother of Ludwig Philipp Scharwenka (1847–1917), who was also a composer and teacher of music. Life ...

. Axt made his American debut as a conductor on December 28, 1910. He served as an assistant conductor for the Hammerstein Grand Opera Company and was a musical director for the Capitol Theatre in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

before joining the music department at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

in 1929. Axt retired from the film industry to raise cattle and breed horses in

Laytonville, California Laytonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located north-northwest of Willits, at an elevation of . The population was 1,152 at the 2020 census, down from 1,227 at the 2010 census. Geogr ...

. He died in

Ukiah, California Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokaya'', meaning "deep valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, with a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves ...

, and had at least one son (Edward).

Selected filmography

* ''

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

'' (1921; with Erno Rapee) * ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...

'' (1922) * ''

Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...

'' (1924) * ''

The Big Parade ''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is about an ...

'' (1925; with David Mendoza) * '' Ben-Hur'' (1925; with David Mendoza) * ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' (1925) * ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'' (1926) * ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

'' (1926; with David Mendoza) * ''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...

'' (1926) * '' Camille'' (1927) * ''

The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg ''The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg'', also known as ''The Student Prince'' and ''Old Heidelberg'', is a 1927 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer silent drama film based on the 1901 play '' Old Heidelberg'' by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster. It was directed by Ern ...

'' (1927; with David Mendoza) * ''

Our Dancing Daughters ''Our Dancing Daughters'' is a 1928 American silent drama film starring Joan Crawford and John Mack Brown about the "loosening of youth morals" that took place during the 1920s. The film was directed by Harry Beaumont and produced by Hunt Str ...

'' (1928) * ''

Show People ''Show People'' is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by King Vidor. The film was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the d ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Trail of '98 ''The Trail of '98'' is a 1928 American silent action-adventure/drama film featuring Harry Carey and Dolores del Río about the Klondike Gold Rush. The film was originally released by MGM in a short-lived widescreen process called “Fantom S ...

'' (1928) * ''

White Shadows in the South Seas ''White Shadows in the South Seas'' is a 1928 American silent film adventure romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Monte Blue and Raquel Torres. It was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions in association with MGM and distributed by MGM ...

'' (1928) * ''

A Woman of Affairs A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Duke Steps Out ''The Duke Steps Out'' is a 1929 American silent comedy-drama film directed by James Cruze and starring William Haines and Joan Crawford. The film is lost, but the Vitaphone sound discs track of music and sound effects survive in the UCLA Film ...

'' (1929) * ''

The Flying Fleet ''The Flying Fleet'' is a 1929 romantic drama film directed by George W. Hill and starring Ramon Novarro, Ralph Graves, and Anita Page. Two United States Navy officers are rivals for the love of the same woman. The film is silent, and in black a ...

'' (1929) * '' The Kiss'' (1929) * '' The Last of Mrs. Cheyney'' (1929) * ''

Madame X ''Madame X'' (original title ''La Femme X'') is a 1908 play by French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912). It was novelized in English and adapted for the American stage; it was also adapted for the screen twelve times over sixty-five ...

'' (1929) * ''

Our Modern Maidens ''Our Modern Maidens'' is a 1929 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Jack Conway. Starring Joan Crawford in her last silent film role, the film also stars Rod La Rocque, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Anita Page. ''Our Modern Maidens' ...

'' (1929) * ''

Where East Is East ''Where East Is East'' is a 1929 American silent drama film starring Lon Chaney as an animal trapper in Laos. The motion picture is Chaney's penultimate silent film and the last of his collaborations with director Tod Browning. While this film ...

'' (1929) * ''

A Free Soul ''A Free Soul'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film that tells the story of an alcoholic San Francisco defense attorney who must defend his daughter's ex-boyfriend on a charge of murdering the mobster she had started a relationship with, who ...

'' (1931) * ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

'' (1931) * ''

Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) ''Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)'' is a 1931 American pre-Code film directed and produced by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Greta Garbo and Clark Gable. The film was based on the novel by David Graham Phillips and made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. ...

'' (1931) * ''

Faithless Faithless are an English band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, '' Reverence'', was released in 1996 and their most recent, ''All Blessed'', in 2020. They have sold millions ...

'' (1932) * ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Mask of Fu Manchu ''The Mask of Fu Manchu'' (1932) is an American pre-Code adventure film directed by Charles Brabin. Written by Irene Kuhn, Edgar Allan Woolf and John Willard, it was based on the 1932 novel of the same name by Sax Rohmer (the sixth in the serie ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Washington Masquerade ''The Washington Masquerade'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Charles Brabin and written by John Meehan and Samuel Blythe. The film stars Lionel Barrymore, Karen Morley, Diane Sinclair, Nils Asther and Reginald Barlow. The ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Wet Parade ''The Wet Parade'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Robert Young, Myrna Loy, Walter Huston, Lewis Stone and Jimmy Durante. It is based on the 1931 novel by Upton Sinclair. The film shows how two ...

''(1932) * '' Broadway to Hollywood'' (1933) * '' Clear All Wires!'' (1933) * '' Dinner at Eight'' (1933) * ''

Eskimo Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Siberian Yupik, Yuit) of eastern Si ...

'' (1933) * ''

Gabriel Over the White House ''Gabriel Over the White House'' is a 1933 American pre-Code political fantasy film starring Walter Huston as a genial but politically corrupt U.S. President who has a near-fatal automobile accident and comes under divine influence—specifica ...

'' (1933) * ''

Hell Below ''Hell Below'' (aka ''Pigboats'') is a 1933 American MGM pre-Code film set in the Adriatic Sea during World War I about submarine warfare based on Commander Edward Ellsberg's novel ''Pigboats''. The film stars Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston ...

'' (1933) * ''

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

'' (1933) * '' The Secret of Madame Blanche'' (1933) * '' Sons of the Desert'' (1933) * ''

Storm at Daybreak ''Storm at Daybreak'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Richard Boleslawski, written by Bertram Millhauser, and starring Kay Francis, Nils Asther, Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Eugene Pallette and C. Henry Gordon. It was rele ...

'' (1933) * '' Reunion in Vienna'' (1933) * ''

Forsaking All Others ''Forsaking All Others'' is a 1934 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by W.S. Van Dyke, and starring Robert Montgomery, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. The screenplay was written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, which was based upon a 1933 ...

'' (1934) * ''

Manhattan Melodrama ''Manhattan Melodrama'' is a 1934 American pre-Code crime film, produced by MGM, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, and starring Clark Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. The movie also provided one of Mickey Rooney's earliest film roles. (Rooney ...

'' (1934) * '' Men in White'' (1934) * ''

Operator 13 ''Operator 13'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romance film directed by Richard Boleslawski and starring Marion Davies, Gary Cooper, and Jean Parker. Based on stories written by Robert W. Chambers, the film is about a Union spy who impersonates a ...

'' (1934) * ''

Sadie McKee ''Sadie McKee'' is a 1934 American pre-Code, romantic-drama film directed by Clarence Brown, starring Joan Crawford, and featuring Gene Raymond, Franchot Tone, Edward Arnold, and Esther Ralston. The film is based on the 1933 short story "Pretty ...

'' (1934) * ''

The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main cha ...

'' (1934) * ''

Tarzan and His Mate ''Tarzan and His Mate'' is a 1934 American pre-Code action adventure film based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Directed by Cedric Gibbons, it w ...

'' (1934) * ''

A Wicked Woman ''A Wicked Woman'' is a 1934 drama film directed by Charles Brabin and starring Mady Christians as a woman who kills her abusive husband to protect her family and builds a new life to raise their four children. The film also stars Jean Parker and ...

'' (1934) * ''

You Can't Buy Everything ''You Can't Buy Everything'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Charles Reisner and Sandy Roth and starring May Robson, Jean Parker and Lewis Stone. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Working titles of the film were ...

'' (1934) * ''

Buried Loot ''Buried Loot'' is a 1935 American crime film, the first installment of 50 Short film, shorts in the ''Crime Does Not Pay'' series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and released to theaters between 1935 and 1947.Kehr, David (2012)"Justice Served, J ...

'' (1935),

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

* '' Rendezvous'' (1935) * ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' (1935) * ''

Libeled Lady ''Libeled Lady'' is a 1936 screwball comedy film starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy, written by George Oppenheimer, Howard Emmett Rogers, Wallace Sullivan, and Maurine Dallas Watkins, and directed by Jack Conway ...

'' (1936) * ''

Tarzan Escapes ''Tarzan Escapes'' is a 1936 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the third in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ''Tarzan'' series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes". Previous films were '' Tarzan ...

'' (1936) * '' We Went to College'' (1936) * ''

Beg, Borrow or Steal ''Beg, Borrow or Steal'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Wilhelm Thiele and written by Leonard Lee, Harry Ruskin and Marion Parsonnet. The film stars Frank Morgan, Florence Rice, John Beal, Janet Beecher, Herman Bing and Erik Rho ...

'' (1937) * '' London by Night'' (1937) * '' Parnell'' (1937) * ''

Under Cover of Night ''Under Cover of Night'' is a 1937 American action film directed by George B. Seitz, written by Bertram Millhauser, and starring Edmund Lowe, Florence Rice, Nat Pendleton, Henry Daniell, Sara Haden and Dean Jagger. It was released on January 8, ...

'' (1937) * ''

Everybody Sing ''Everybody, Sing!'' is a Philippine Musical film, musical game show created, developed, produced and distributed by ABS-CBN, ABS-CBN Entertainment It was hosted by Vice Ganda. The show aired for first season from June 5 to October 10, 2021, ...

'' (1938) * ''

Woman Against Woman ''Woman Against Woman'' is a 1938 American drama film directed by Robert B. Sinclair and written by Edward Chodorov. The film stars Herbert Marshall, Virginia Bruce, Mary Astor, Janet Beecher and Marjorie Rambeau. The film was released on June ...

'' (1938) * ''

Yellow Jack The yellow jack (''Carangoides bartholomaei''), also known as coolihoo, is a species of marine fish in the jack family, Carangidae. It is one of only two representatives of its genus present in the Atlantic Ocean, inhabiting waters off the east ...

'' (1938) * ''

Sergeant Madden ''Sergeant Madden'' is a 1939 film noir forerunner directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast in this dark police crime drama, noted for its imaginative and evocative cinematography, includes Tom Brown, Lara ...

'' (1939) * ''

Tarzan Finds a Son! ''Tarzan Finds a Son!'' is a 1939 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the fourth in the MGM ''Tarzan'' series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes" and the fourth of six films in which he ...

'' (1939) * ''

Tell No Tales ''Tell No Tales'' is the third studio album by the Norwegian hard rock band TNT. It was the best-selling TNT album in the U.S., according to their bass guitarist Morty Black. This album diverted from the power metal style of '' Knights of the ...

'' (1939) * '' Untamed'' (1940) * ''

Little Nellie Kelly ''Little Nellie Kelly'' is a 1940 American musical-comedy film based on the stage musical of the same title by George M. Cohan which was a hit on Broadway in 1922 and 1923. The film was written by Jack McGowan and directed by Norman Taurog. It ...

'' (1940) * ''

Tarzan's Secret Treasure ''Tarzan's Secret Treasure'' is a 1941 Tarzan film directed by Richard Thorpe. Based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, it is the fifth in the MGM ''Tarzan'' series to star Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Original print ...

'' (1941) * ''

Madame Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

'' (1943)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Axt, William American film score composers American male film score composers American male conductors (music) Musicians from New York City 1888 births 1959 deaths DeWitt Clinton High School alumni University of Chicago alumni People from Laytonville, California Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians