Walter Schumann (October 8, 1913 – August 21, 1958) was an

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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 ...

for

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

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, and the

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. His notable works include the score for '' The Night of the Hunter'' and the ''Dragnet'' Theme; the latter of which earned Schumann the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition in 1955. His Broadway musical, '' 3 for Tonight'', won the

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

for Best Musical in 1955.

Career

Schumann was born in

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in 1913. By the early 1930s, he was attending law school at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

when he abruptly quit his studies to perform in a college dance band. Eventually, the members of the band went their separate ways but Schumann continued on within the music industry, working with

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...

on Cantor's radio show, and recording with

Andre Kostelanetz Andre Kostelanetz (russian: Абрам Наумович Костелянец; December 22, 1901 – January 13, 1980) was a Russian-born American popular orchestral music conductor and arranger who was one of the major exponents of popular orch ...

. Following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Schumann enlisted, eventually becoming the musical director of the

Armed Forces Radio Service The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which ...

. He worked with most of the major acts of the war on all the radio shows AFRS produced during this time. After the war, he returned to Los Angeles and worked in the movie and television industry as a composer and arranger, mostly on several

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films. In 1949, Schumann was asked to compose a new theme for a police detective show about to make its debut on the NBC Radio network. He began his theme with a four-note motif—quite possibly the second most famous four-note motif after

Beethoven's Fifth Symphony The Symphony No. 5 in C minor of Ludwig van Beethoven, Op. 67, was written between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies, and it is widely considered one of ...

. ''Dragnet'' became a smash hit on the radio, and then television and Schumann's theme quickly became instantly recognizable. He wrote one

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, ''John Brown's Body'', which premiered in Los Angeles in 1953 and subsequently ran for sixty-five performances on

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at the

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. This was followed by the musical revue '' 3 for Tonight'' which premiered on Broadway in 1955 in a production directed by and starring

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. It won the

for Best Musical in 1955. Around this time, Schumann gathered together 20 talented vocalists and ''The Voices Of Walter Schumann'' was born. The ensemble recorded several easy-listening albums, similar to those recorded by Jackie Gleason, for both

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and

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. By 1955, Schumann was busy composing and conducting the score to the classic

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

film '' The Night of the Hunter'' and won an

Emmy 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 ...

for his wildly popular ''Dragnet'' theme. He recorded a space-age themed, spoken-word album titled ''Exploring the Unknown'', and his "Voices" troupe recorded a popular, 19-track Christmas album, ''The Voices of Christmas''. The latter album was reissued on

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in November 2007 – 52 years after its initial debut both as an LP and 3-record 45 RPM set. There was a tribute to him on the centennial anniversary of his birth.Centennial Birthday Tribute to Walter Schumann
/ref>

Death

In 1956 and 1957 Schumann continued to record with the Voices and they appeared on the first season of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford ''The Ford Show'' (also known as ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' and ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'') is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday eveni ...

''. However, by the summer of 1958, poor health prompted Schumann to be admitted to the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

, where he underwent one of the first open heart surgeries in the United States. Complications arose following the operation, and Schumann died on August 21, 1958, aged 44, just weeks before the third season of ''

The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show ''The Ford Show'' (also known as ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' and ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'') is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday eveni ...

'' was scheduled to begin. Members of Schumann's "Voices" ensemble were stunned by his sudden death but decided to continue performing. They were renamed "The Top Twenty," and they carried on with Ford for another five years.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schumann, Walter American film score composers American male film score composers American opera composers Broadway composers and lyricists Male opera composers 1913 births 1958 deaths Musicians from New York City USC Gould School of Law alumni 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians