Ray Heindorf
Personal Info
Known for
Sound
Gender
Male
Birthday
1908-08-25
Day of Death
1980-02-03 (71 years old)
Place of Birth
Haverstraw, New York, USA
Ray Heindorf
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ray Heindorf (August 25, 1908 – February 3, 1980) was an American songwriter, composer, conductor, and arranger.
Born in Haverstraw, New York, Heindorf worked as a pianist in a movie house in Mechanicville in his early teens. In 1928, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a musical arranger before heading to Hollywood. He gained his first job as an orchestrator at MGM, where he worked on Hollywood Revue of 1929, and subsequently went on the road playing piano for Lupe Vélez.
After completing this engagement, he joined Warner Bros., composing and/or arranging and conducting music exclusively for the studio for nearly forty years. Heindorf, along with Georgie Stoll at MGM, were jazz aficionados well known in the black entertainment community for employing minority musicians in their studio music departments.
He undertook the musical direction of Judy Garland's comeback film A Star is Born (1954) and made a cameo appearance as himself in the premiere party sequence where Jack Carson's character congratulates him on a great score.
Among Heindorf's other screen credits are 42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1935, The Great Lie, Knute Rockne All American, Kings Row, Night and Day, Tea for Two, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Jazz Singer, No Time for Sergeants, The Helen Morgan Story, Marjorie Morningstar, Damn Yankees, Auntie Mame, Finian's Rainbow, and his final musical for Jack L. Warner, 1776.
Between 1943 and 1969 he was nominated for eighteen Academy Awards, 17 nominations for Best Score and 1 nomination for Best Song. Heindorf won three, in the category of Best Score of a Musical, for Yankee Doodle Dandy, This is the Army, and The Music Man. His wins for the former two films made him the first to accomplish consecutive wins in a musical category.
Heindorf died in Tarzana, California, aged 71, and reputedly was buried with his favorite conducting baton.
Known For
Acting
(1954)
A Star Is Born
as Movie Premiere Attendee (uncredited)
(1951)
I'll See You in My Dreams
as Orchestra Leader at Kahn Benefit (uncredited)
(1951)
The Screen Director
as Self (uncredited)
(1949)
It's a Great Feeling
as Ray Heindorf (uncredited)
(1929)
The Song Writers' Revue
as Himself
Crew
(1972)
1776
Music Supervisor, Conductor
(1971)
O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra
Original Music Composer
(1968)
Finian's Rainbow
Original Music Composer
(1959)
Up Periscope
Music Supervisor
(1959)
-30-
Original Music Composer
(1959)
The Young Philadelphians
Music Supervisor
(1957)
The Helen Morgan Story
Original Music Composer
(1956)
Miracle in the Rain
Music
(1956)
Serenade
Original Music Composer, Music Director
(1955)
Pete Kelly's Blues
Original Music Composer
(1955)
Sincerely Yours
Original Music Composer
(1954)
A Star Is Born
Original Music Composer, Music Director
(1954)
Lucky Me
Music Director
(1954)
Young at Heart
Original Music Composer
(1953)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Music Director
(1953)
Blowing Wild
Music Director
(1953)
I Confess
Music Director
(1953)
Three Sailors and a Girl
Original Music Composer
(1953)
Calamity Jane
Music Director
(1952)
April in Paris
Music Director
(1952)
The Big Trees
Music Director
(1952)
Where's Charley?
Music
(1951)
I'll See You in My Dreams
Music Director
(1951)
Come Fill the Cup
Music Director, Original Music Composer
(1951)
A Streetcar Named Desire
Music Director
(1951)
Strangers on a Train
Music Director
(1951)
Lullaby of Broadway
Music Director
(1951)
Storm Warning
Music Director
(1951)
Goodbye, My Fancy
Music Director
(1950)
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
Music Director
(1950)
The West Point Story
Music Director, Original Music Composer
(1950)
Backfire
Music Director
(1950)
(1950)
The Damned Don't Cry
Music Director
(1950)
Tea for Two
Music Director
(1949)
It's a Great Feeling
Music, Original Music Composer
(1948)
April Showers
Original Music Composer
(1948)
Romance on the High Seas
Orchestrator, Conductor
(1948)
Adventures of Don Juan
Music Supervisor
(1947)
Love and Learn
Music Arranger
(1947)
My Wild Irish Rose
Original Music Composer
(1946)
Cinderella Jones
Orchestrator
(1946)
The Man I Love
Music Arranger
(1945)
Wonder Man
Orchestrator, Conductor
(1945)
Rhapsody in Blue
Original Music Composer
(1944)
Up in Arms
Conductor, Music Arranger
(1943)
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Orchestrator
(1943)
The Hard Way
Music Arranger
(1942)
The Male Animal
Orchestrator
(1942)
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Original Music Composer
(1942)
Gentleman Jim
Orchestrator
(1941)
The Sea Wolf
Music Arranger
(1941)
The Great Lie
Orchestrator
(1941)
The Strawberry Blonde
Orchestrator
(1941)
Honeymoon for Three
Orchestrator
(1941)
Four Mothers
Orchestrator
(1941)
Flight from Destiny
Music Arranger
(1941)
Affectionately Yours
Orchestrator
(1940)
My Love Came Back
Music
(1940)
Castle on the Hudson
Music Arranger
(1940)
Knute Rockne All American
Orchestrator
(1939)
The Roaring Twenties
Original Music Composer
(1939)
Angels Wash Their Faces
Orchestrator
(1939)
Four Wives
Orchestrator
(1939)
Daughters Courageous
Orchestrator
(1939)
Invisible Stripes
Orchestrator
(1938)
Hollywood Hotel
Music
(1938)
Men Are Such Fools
Orchestrator
(1938)
Boy Meets Girl
Music
(1938)
Gold Diggers in Paris
Original Music Composer
(1937)
Ready, Willing and Able
Music Arranger
(1936)
Stage Struck
Music Arranger
(1936)
Colleen
Music Arranger
(1936)
The Singing Kid
Music Arranger
(1935)
Dangerous
Original Music Composer
(1935)
Alibi Ike
Orchestrator
(1935)
Sweet Music
Music Arranger
(1935)
Gold Diggers of 1935
Music Arranger
(1935)
Broadway Gondolier
Music Arranger
(1935)
Go Into Your Dance
Orchestrator
(1934)
A Lost Lady
Original Music Composer
(1934)
Desirable
Original Music Composer
(1934)
Flirtation Walk
Music Arranger
(1934)
Fashions of 1934
Music Arranger
(1934)
Murder in the Clouds
Original Music Composer
(1934)
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
Orchestrator
(1933)
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
Orchestrator
(1933)
Footlight Parade
Music Arranger
(1933)
Secrets
Orchestrator
(1933)
The Kennel Murder Case
Orchestrator
(1932)
Big City Blues
Original Music Composer
(1932)
Crooner
Original Music Composer
(1932)
The Greeks Had a Word for Them
Orchestrator
(1932)
Three on a Match
Music Arranger
(1932)
Central Park
Music
(1931)
Arrowsmith
Orchestrator