The Composer: Alfred Newman was born in Connecticut in March 1901, the son of an impoverished family and one of ten children. Yet he was to receive a good musical education, Schoenberg included among his mentors. As a teenager he was a gifted pianist, conductor and composer, and at the age of 19 was the musical director of the Broadway hit, George White Scandals, making him the youngest conductor to have appeared on Broadway. In 1930 he moved to Hollywood with the idea of being a writer and conductor of musicals. It was an over-subscribed profession, but he found a market for his work in various film studios. In 1939 he was appointed head of music for 20th Century Fox, though at that time he would still have stated a reluctance to commit his life to films. He was also involved with conducting the recently formed Hollywood Bowl orchestra, though he disliked appearing in the public gaze.

He remained with 20th Century to 1960, during which time he worked on 225 films, winning