Alfred Newman
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Alfred Newman (March 17, 1901 - February 17, 1970) was a major American composer of music for films. He received 45 Academy Award nominations (a record in the music categories), winning 9 times; in 1940 he was nominated for 4 different films. He also composed the familiar fanfare which accompanies the studio logo for 20th Century Fox, where he headed the music department. He was active until the end of his life, scoring Airport shortly before his death.
Between 1930 and 1970, he wrote music for over 200 films of every imaginable type, including a score for the newsreel made from the World War II footage of the Battle of Midway. Among his major film scores are:
- State Fair (both 1933 and 1945 versions)
- The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 version)
- Alexander's Ragtime Band
- Gunga Din
- Wuthering Heights
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- The Mark of Zorro (1940 version)
- How Green Was My Valley
- The Song of Bernadette
- My Friend Flicka
- Gentleman’s Agreement
- Captain from Castile
- All About Eve
- The Robe
- The Diary of Anne Frank
- How the West Was Won
He married Martha Louise, née Montgomery.
He was the head of a family of major Hollywood film composers: His brother Lionel Newman scored three dozen films and several TV series, adapting and conducting scores for hundreds of other films. His brother Emil Newman scored over 50 films. His son David Newman has scored over 70 films, including Galaxy Quest, The Nutty Professor, The War of the Roses, and Ice Age. His son Thomas Newman has scored over 50 films, including Finding Nemo, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, Road to Perdition, and American Beauty. His nephew Randy Newman is noted not only for his film work but also for a series of popular albums as a singer/songwriter.
Other relatives include his nephew Bill Newman-son of Emil Newman and niece Jill Newman--Emil's granddaughter.