He was a bandleader, arranger, composer and orchestrator
born in Toronto, Canada.When
he was young he learned to play the piano and the violin and would soon be
playing in theatres and venues that included the Massey Hall.Tragically he was badly burned in a
fire with lasting injuries to his hands and this was when he turned to
conducting orchestras, often on radio, and he became nationally known for
his live broadcasts from 1933 to 1940 for the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation. In 1940 he relocated
to Chicago and became a naturalised US citizen in 1945.Becoming involved in the recording industry he worked for
Voice of America, Decca and Columbia Records and throughout the
1950s and into the 1960s he made numerous album recordings and also
arranged for popular artists of the day such as Doris Day, Johnny
Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, Sarah Vaughan, Frankie Laine, Jerry
Vale
, Vic
Damone and Tony Bennett.As a
composer he wrote the score for the Doris Day film Love Me or Leave Me,
"Tammy Tell Me True" and "The Oscar" and many popular songs such as Guy
Mitchell's No. 1 hit "My Heart Cries For You".In his own right he had major hits with "Delicado", "Song
from the Moulin Rouge" and his Grammy Award winning single "Theme From a
Summer Place" and the album "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet".Attempting to keep up with the
times in the 1970s he released two albums that were disco style recordings
and also a country music LP.In 1976 he passed away in Encino, California, after suffering from
cancer.He was 68 years old.
