Ralph Rainger
| Ralph Rainger | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ralph Reichenthal |
| Born | October 7, 1901 |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Died |
October 23, 1942 (aged 41) near Palm Springs, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1928–1942[1] |
Ralph Rainger (October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films.
Biography
Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, Rainger embarked on a legal career before escaping to Broadway where he became Clifton Webb's accompanist.[1]
His first hit "Moanin' Low," with lyrics by Howard Dietz, was written for Webb's co-star Libby Holman in the 1929 revue The Little Show. Moving to Hollywood, Rainger teamed up with lyricist Leo Robin to produce a string of successful film songs,[1] including "I'll Take An Option On You" from the Broadway hit show "Tattle Tales" (1933).
In the years that followed, Rainger wrote or collaborated on such hit songs as "I Wished on the Moon", "Love in Bloom" (comedian Jack Benny’s theme song), "Faithful Forever", "Easy Living", "June in January", "Blue Hawaii", and with Leo Robin on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory", sung by Bob Hope in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938.[1]
Rainger paid one year's tuition fees to the Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg in advance, so that Schönberg could pay for the transportation of his belongings to Los Angeles from Paris in 1933.
Rainger died in a plane crash near Palm Springs, California, in 1942. He was a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 28, a DC-3 airliner that was involved in a midair collision with a U.S. Army Air Corps bomber. Rainger was 41 years old when he died; he was survived by a wife, Elizabeth ("Betty"), an 8-year-old son, and two daughters, ages 5 and 1.[1]
Film credits
- For a complete film score list, see: Songwriters Hall of Fame; Ralph Rainger film scores
- 1930 - Tom Sawyer
- 1930 - The Virtuous Sin
- 1932 - The Big Broadcast
- 1932 - A Farewell to Arms
- 1932 - This Is the Night
- 1933 - A Bedtime Story
- 1933 - From Hell to Heaven
- 1933 - She Done Him Wrong
- 1933 - International House
- 1933 - Three-Cornered Moon
- 1934 - Kiss and Make-Up
- 1934 - Come on Marines
- 1934 - Bolero
- 1934 - All of Me
- 1934 - Little Miss Marker
- 1934 - Search for Beauty
- 1934 - Six of a Kind
- 1935 - The Devil Is a Woman
- 1935 - The Big Broadcast of 1936
- 1935 - Ruggles of Red Gap
- 1936 - The Big Broadcast of 1937
- 1936 - Rhythm on the Range
- 1936 - Rose of the Rancho
- 1936 - Poppy
- 1936 - Palm Springs
- 1936 - Three Cheers for Love
- 1937 - King of Gamblers
- 1937 - The Big Broadcast of 1938, including the Academy Award-winning song "Thanks for the Memory"
- 1937 - Blossoms on Broadway
- 1937 - Hills of Old Wyoming
- 1937 - Ebb Tide
- 1937 - Swing High, Swing Low
- 1937 - Waikiki Wedding
- 1937 - Souls at Sea
- 1938 - Her Jungle Love
- 1938 - Artists and Models Abroad
- 1938 - Romance in the Dark
- 1938 - The Texans
- 1939 - Gulliver's Travels, including the Academy Award nominated song "Faithful Forever"
- 1939 - $1000 a Touchdown
- 1941 - Cadet Girl
- 1941 - A Yank in the R.A.F.
- 1941 - Tall, Dark and Handsome
- 1941 - Rise and Shine
- 1941 - New York Town
- 1942 - Footlight Serenade
- 1942 - True to the Army
- 1942 - My Gal Sal
See also
- Category:Songs with music by Ralph Rainger
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Doug Ramsey (December 30, 2008). "Another Who's Been Unjustly Forgotten". The Wall Street Journal.
External links
- Ralph Rainger at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ralph Rainger at the Internet Movie Database
- Ralph Rainger at the Songwriters Hall of Fame
- "The Film Music of Ralph Rainger". artsjournal.com.
- Ralph Rainger at Find a Grave