Franklyn Marks (May 31, 1911, Cleveland, Ohio - July 12, 1976, Sherman Oaks, California) was an American composer and arranger, who worked principally in the idioms of

film soundtracks A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Biography

Early in his career, Marks wrote the song ''Merry Widow on a Spree'' for Irving Mills (1937, as Frank Marks), which he also recorded as a pianist with the Millphonics Orchestra. In the same year he played more of his compositions with his own band. In the next few years, he arranged for

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

and was involved in the orchestration of the musicals '' Too Many Girls'' and '' Best Foot Forward''. Starting in 1950, Marks wrote compositions for the

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

orchestra that were oriented towards Latin jazz. His ''Trajectories'' were played by Kenton to open his concerts. Kenton also recorded his works ''Spirals'' and ''Evening in Pakistan''. Songs by Marks were also recorded by Jerry Lewis, Mel Blanc, Ike Carpenter,

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the young ...

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

and

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

. In 1953 he accompanied

Yma Sumac Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (September 13, 1922 (birth certificate) or September 10, 1922 (later documents) – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Yma Sumac (), was a Peruvian-American coloratura soprano. She was one ...

on the piano at the Mocambo-Club in Hollywood. Concomitantly, Marks worked as a composer and arranger for Hollywood studios, especially for Walt Disney Studios from 1955. Marks had less compositional freedom as a composer for Hollywood, But unlike in the jazz area, he could earn his living there. As a composer, he played for an episode of the

Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

in 1955, from 1956 for 25 episodes of ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

'', and other Disney television productions. For the cinema, he first orchestrated the music of cartoon, documentary, and feature films of the Disney studios for Paul J. Smith,

George Bruns George Edward Bruns (July 3, 1914 – May 23, 1983) was an American composer of music for film and television. His accolades include four Academy Award nominations, and three Grammy Award nominations. He is mainly known for his compositions for ...

, and Marvin Hamlisch before writing the music for the first film featuring Scrooge McDuck in 1967. He also wrote single film songs, such as "Climb the Mountain" for

William Alwyn William Alwyn (born William Alwyn Smith; 7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher. Life and music William Alwyn was born William Alwyn Smith in Northampton, the son of Ada Tyler (Tompkins ...

's soundtrack to '' Third Man on the Mountain'' (1959).Ian Johnson, ''William Alwyn: The Art of Film Music''. Boydell & Brewer 2006, p. 288

Filmography

*1956 : ''How to Have an Accident in the Home'' *1956 : ''The Great Locomotive Chase'' *1956 : ''Nature's Secrets of Life'' *1957 : ''Johnny Tremain'' *1957 : ''Perri'' *1958 : ''The Light in the Forest'' *1959 : ''Sleeping Beauty'' (uncredited) *1960 : ''Pollyanna'' *1961 : ''101 Dalmatians'' *1961 : ''The Parent Trap'' *1961 : ''Babes in Toyland'' *1961 : ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' *1962 : ''Bon Voyage!'' *1963 : ''Miracle of the White Stallions'' *1963 : ''The Sword in the Stone'' *1966 : ''The Ugly Dachshund'' *1967 : ''Scrooge McDuck and Money'' *1967 : ''How the West Was Lost'' *1967 : ''Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar'' *1969 : ''Guns in the Heather'' *1970 : ''King of the Grizzlies'' *1972 : ''Justin Morgan Had a Horse'' *1973 : ''The World's Greatest Athlete'' *1974 : ''The Castaway Cowboy''

References

External Links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Franklyn American composers Musicians from Cleveland 1911 births 1976 deaths