William Axt
American composer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Axt (April 19, 1888 – February 13, 1959) was an American composer of nearly two hundred film scores.
William Axt | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 19, 1888 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 13, 1959 (aged 70) Ukiah, California, U.S. |
| Education | DeWitt Clinton High School National Conservatory of Music of America |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Occupation | Composer |
Life and career
Born in New York City, Axt graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx and studied at the National Conservatory of Music of America.[citation needed] He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Chicago in 1922.[1] He studied in Berlin under Xaver Scharwenka.[2]
Axt made his American debut as a conductor on December 28, 1910.[2]
He served as an assistant conductor for the Hammerstein Grand Opera Company and was a musical director for the Capitol Theatre in Manhattan before joining the music department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1929.[citation needed]
Axt retired from the film industry to raise cattle and breed horses in Laytonville, California.[citation needed] He died in Ukiah, California, and had at least one son (Edward).[3]
Selected filmography
- Theodora (1921; with Erno Rapee)[4]
- The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)
- Greed (1924)
- The Big Parade (1925; with David Mendoza)[5]
- Ben-Hur (1925; with David Mendoza)[6]
- The Merry Widow (1925)[7]
- La Bohème (1926)[7]
- Don Juan (1926; with David Mendoza)[8][9]
- The Scarlet Letter (1926)[7]
- Camille (1927)
- The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927; with David Mendoza)[10]
- Our Dancing Daughters (1928)
- Show People (1928)[7]
- The Trail of '98 (1928)[7]
- White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)[7]
- A Woman of Affairs (1928)[7]
- The Duke Steps Out (1929)[7]
- The Flying Fleet (1929)[7]
- The Kiss (1929)[7]
- The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929)
- Madame X (1929)
- Our Modern Maidens (1929)[7]
- Where East Is East (1929)
- A Free Soul (1931)[7]
- Private Lives (1931)
- Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931)
- Faithless (1932)[7]
- Grand Hotel (1932)
- The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)[11]
- The Washington Masquerade (1932)[7]
- The Wet Parade(1932)[7]
- Broadway to Hollywood (1933)[7]
- Clear All Wires! (1933)[12]
- Dinner at Eight (1933)[13]
- Eskimo (1933)[14]
- Gabriel Over the White House (1933)[7]
- Hell Below (1933)[15]
- Penthouse (1933)[3]
- The Secret of Madame Blanche (1933)[7]
- Sons of the Desert (1933)
- Storm at Daybreak (1933)[7]
- Reunion in Vienna (1933)[3]
- Forsaking All Others (1934)[7]
- Manhattan Melodrama (1934)[7]
- Men in White (1934)
- Operator 13 (1934)[7]
- Sadie McKee (1934)[7]
- The Thin Man (1934)[7]
- Tarzan and His Mate (1934)[7]
- A Wicked Woman (1934)[7]
- You Can't Buy Everything (1934)
- Buried Loot (1935), short
- Rendezvous (1935)[3]
- David Copperfield (1935)
- Libeled Lady (1936)[7]
- Tarzan Escapes (1936)[7]
- We Went to College (1936)[16]
- Beg, Borrow or Steal (1937)[7]
- London by Night (1937)
- Parnell (1937)[3]
- Under Cover of Night (1937)[7]
- Everybody Sing (1938)[7]
- Woman Against Woman (1938)[7]
- Yellow Jack (1938)[7]
- Sergeant Madden (1939)[7]
- Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)[7]
- Tell No Tales (1939)[7]
- Untamed (1940)
- Little Nellie Kelly (1940)
- Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941)[7]
- Madame Curie (1943)