Scott Bradley's photo

Scott Bradley

Born: 1891-11-26 in Russellville, Arkansas, USA

Died: 1977-04-27

Known For: Sound

Biography

Scott Bradley was an American composer, pianist and conductor. He is best remembered for scoring the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) theatrical cartoons, including those starring Tom and Jerry (Hanna-Barbera years 1940-1958, 113 of 114 episodes), Droopy Dog (all 24 episodes), Barney Bear (all 26 episodes), and the many one-shot cartoons. Bradley was a conservatory-trained composer and pianist. In 1934, he began composing for Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising, who were producing cartoon shorts for MGM. After MGM established its own cartoon studio in 1937, Bradley was hired permanently, and he remained with MGM until his retirement in 1957. His early style incorporated fragments of popular and traditional melodies, as was common practice in scores for animation. However, by the late 1940s, Bradley's compositions and orchestrations had become more original and complex, occasionally utilizing the twelve-tone technique devised by Arnold Schoenberg who, along with Bela Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, and Paul Hindemith, influenced Bradley's approach. "Scott writes the most blank-blank-blank difficult fiddle music in Hollywood," concertmaster Lou Raderman was quoted (complaining good-naturedly) in Sight & Sound magazine. "He is going to break my fingers." Bradley expressed considerable pride in his "funny music" and believed scoring for animation offered far more possibilities to the serious composer than live-action films. Bradley retired in 1957 when MGM closed its cartoon department. He died on April 27, 1977 in Chatsworth, California.

Filmography

2021

1958

1957

1956

1955

1954

1953

1952

1951

1950

1949

1948

1947

1946

1945

1944

1943

1942

1941

1940

1939

1938

1937

1936

1935

1934

1932

1931

Write a Review for

Create a New List