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Heinz Roemheld Heinz Eric Roemheld (pronounced RAME
HELD) was born on May 1, 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, started playing piano at age four, and graduated from Milwaukee's College of Music at 19. He performed in theaters to earn money for further piano study in Europe, and in 1920 went to Berlin, where he studied with Hugo Kaun, Ferrucio Busoni, and Egon Petri. Two years later he debuted as guest soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1925, while Roemheld was in Milwaukee performing on piano and conducting the orchestra for the silent film The Phantom Of The Opera, he was noticed by Carl Laemmle, the head of Universal Pictures, who was sitting in the audience. Laemmle hired Roemheld to manage Universal's theaters, first in Washington, D.C., and then in Berlin. By 1929, the rise of Nazism made him return once again to the States. In Hollywood, Roemheld joined Universal Studios as a composer and music director, and in 1930 he scored All Quiet On The Western Front. He later worked for Paramount, spent about a decade with Warner Brothers, and then turned to free-lancing in the mid-1940s. One of his most illustrious jobs was one he received no credit for: some scenes for Gone With The Wind, which included the burning of Atlanta. In 1942 he won the Academy Award for Yankee Doodle Dandy, and in 1952 he wrote the standard “Ruby” for Ruby Gentry. Roemheld continued to compose for films until the late ’50s, including work at MGM, 20th Century-Fox, and again at Universal, where he contributed to their sci-fi thrillers The Mole People, The Creature Walks Among Us, and The Land Unknown. After trying his hand at writing for television and not liking it, he retired in 1964 to concentrate on his classical compositions, which included preludes, sonatinas, quartets, and quintets. He frequently conducted his own compositions with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and also found time to travel to Tahiti, Hawaii, Majorca, and other exotic places. Over his long career he composed, arranged, or conducted the music for more than 400 films, a few of which are: Dracula’s Daughter, Gentleman Jim, The Invisible Man, It Had To Be You, Janie, The Lady From Shanghai, The Monster That Challenged The World, Mr. Ace, The Perils Of Pauline, Shine On Harvest Moon, Valentino, and You Can’t Get Away With Murder. Heinz Roemheld passed away on February 11, 1985. |
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