Arthur Morton
Born: 1908-08-08 in Duluth, Minnesota, USA
Died: 2000-04-15
Known For: Sound
Biography
Arthur Morton was an American music composer and orchestrator for film and television productions. Arthur Morton, aka Arthur Goldberg, was born on 8th August 1908 in Duluth at the southern end of Lake Superior, 150 miles from Minneapolis. He was educated at West High School , 2808 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis. The school closed in 1982. He continued his education at the University of Minnesota, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, where he also played in jazz bands. He graduated in 1929 and after a year studying law and undertaking further graduate work in philosophy he moved to Los Angeles. Surprisingly, there is no mention of him receiving an advanced musical education. In 1935 he married Emmy Lou Hellman, the daughter of screenwriter Sam Hellman and the sister of Verna Fields, the Academy Award winning film editor of “Jaws”. His 65-year career in Hollywood began in the music departments of the Hal Roach Studios - of Laurel and Hardy fame - and at Columbia Pictures, composing and orchestrating uncredited stock music. His first credited film score was for Night Life of the Gods (1935). While at Columbia he began collaborating with George Duning, aka George Dunning, composing additional music for films such as the 1949 film Lust for Gold and eventually becoming Duning’s orchestrator. During the period, he composed and orchestrated music for over fifty films including: From Here To Eternity (1953), The Man From Laramie (1955), Kismet (1955), and the cult film Oceans Eleven (1960) staring The Rat Pack. In 1955, he orchestrated perhaps the most famous of George Duning’s scores for the film Picnic, which included the hit song Theme from Picnic, which in the film, was blended with the 1930’s standard Moonglow. The score was nominated in 1956 for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Jerry Goldsmith Online
Filmography
1997
- L.A. Confidential ... (Orchestrator)
1996
- Chain Reaction ... (Orchestrator)
- Star Trek: First Contact ... (Orchestrator)
1994
- The Shadow ... (Orchestrator)
- The River Wild ... (Orchestrator)
1990
- Total Recall ... (Orchestrator)
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch ... (Orchestrator)
1989
- Leviathan ... (Orchestrator)
1987
- Extreme Prejudice ... (Orchestrator)
1986
- Link ... (Orchestrator)
1985
- Rambo: First Blood Part II ... (Orchestrator)
- Explorers ... (Orchestrator)
- Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend ... (Orchestrator)
1984
- Gremlins ... (Orchestrator)
1982
- First Blood ... (Orchestrator)
- The Secret of NIMH ... (Orchestrator)
1981
- Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen ... (Orchestrator)
1978
- Superman ... (Orchestrator)
- The Boys from Brazil ... (Orchestrator)
1977
- MacArthur ... (Orchestrator)
- Damnation Alley ... (Orchestrator)
- Islands in the Stream ... (Orchestrator)
- Twilight's Last Gleaming ... (Orchestrator)
1976
- The Omen ... (Orchestrator)
1972
- The Waltons ... (Music)
- The Other ... (Orchestrator)
1971
- The Mephisto Waltz ... (Orchestrator)
1970
- Patton ... (Orchestrator)
- Tora! Tora! Tora! ... (Orchestrator)
- Rio Lobo ... (Orchestrator)
1969
- Justine ... (Orchestrator)
1967
- In Like Flint ... (Original Music Composer)
1965
- Morituri ... (Orchestrator)
- Dear Brigitte ... (Orchestrator)
- Von Ryan's Express ... (Orchestrator)
- John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! ... (Orchestrator)
1964
- Paris When It Sizzles ... (Orchestrator)
- What a Way to Go! ... (Orchestrator)
1963
- Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? ... (Orchestrator)
- Critic's Choice ... (Orchestrator)
- Move Over, Darling ... (Orchestrator)
1962
- 13 West Street ... (Orchestrator)
- Who's Got the Action? ... (Orchestrator)
1961
- Swingin' Along ... (Original Music Composer)
- Cry for Happy ... (Orchestrator)
- A Raisin in the Sun ... (Orchestrator)
- Two Rode Together ... (Orchestrator)
1960
- Ocean's Eleven ... (Orchestrator)
- The Wackiest Ship in the Army ... (Orchestrator)
- Let No Man Write My Epitaph ... (Orchestrator)
1959
- Gidget ... (Original Music Composer)
- The Last Angry Man ... (Orchestrator)
1958
- Houseboat ... (Orchestrator)
- Gunman's Walk ... (Orchestrator)
- The High Cost of Loving ... (Orchestrator)
1957
- 3:10 to Yuma ... (Orchestrator)
- Pal Joey ... (Orchestrator)
- The Tijuana Story ... (Music)
- The Shadow on the Window ... (Orchestrator)
- Jeanne Eagels ... (Orchestrator)
1956
- Nightfall ... (Orchestrator)
- Miami Exposé ... (Music)
- He Laughed Last ... (Original Music Composer)
- Inside Detroit ... (Music)
1955
- Queen Bee ... (Orchestrator)
- The Last Frontier ... (Orchestrator)
- Picnic ... (Orchestrator)
- Tight Spot ... (Orchestrator)
- Chicago Syndicate ... (Original Music Composer)
- The Man from Laramie ... (Orchestrator)
- Three Stripes in the Sun ... (Original Music Composer)
- Kismet ... (Music Arranger)
1954
- Phffft ... (Orchestrator)
- Pushover ... (Original Music Composer)
- It Should Happen to You ... (Orchestrator)
1953
- Gun Fury ... (Original Music Composer)
- The Big Heat ... (Original Music Composer)
- From Here to Eternity ... (Orchestrator)
- Let's Do It Again ... (Orchestrator)
- The Juggler ... (Orchestrator)
1952
- Affair in Trinidad ... (Orchestrator)
1951
- The Harlem Globetrotters ... (Original Music Composer)
- The Lady and the Bandit ... (Orchestrator)
1950
- The Nevadan ... (Original Music Composer)
- Harriet Craig ... (Orchestrator)
- No Sad Songs for Me ... (Orchestrator)
- Father Is a Bachelor ... (Original Music Composer)
1949
- Shockproof ... (Orchestrator)
- The Walking Hills ... (Original Music Composer)
1947
- Johnny O'Clock ... (Orchestrator)
- Millie's Daughter ... (Music)
1946
- Gilda ... (Orchestrator)
- Home Sweet Homicide ... (Orchestrator)
1945
- Fallen Angel ... (Orchestrator)
1944
- The Lady and the Monster ... (Orchestrator)
- Laura ... (Orchestrator)
- Strange Affair ... (Original Music Composer)
1943
- Quiet Please, Murder ... (Orchestrator)
- London Blackout Murders ... (Orchestrator)
1942
- Inflation ... (Orchestrator)
1939
- The Day the Bookies Wept ... (Music Director)
1938
- Merrily We Live ... (Orchestrator)
1937
- Night Key ... (Music)
1936
- Theodora Goes Wild ... (Original Music Composer)
1935
- Princess O'Hara ... (Original Music Composer)
- She Gets Her Man ... (Original Music Composer)
- Night Life of the Gods ... (Original Music Composer)