Film Composer. He first came to Hollywood in 1935 to arrange Charles Chaplin's score for "Modern Times" (1936), and went on to work for Warner Bros., Fox, and MGM. Raksin's scores for film and TV include "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (1939), "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" (1939), "Fallen Angel" (1945), "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1947), "Force of Evil" (1948), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), "Pat and Mike" (1952), "Will Penny" (1968), and "The Day After" (1983), and he received Oscar nominations for "Forever Amber" (1947) and "Seperate Tables" (1958). But he is best remembered for his haunting theme for the classic noir mystery "Laura" (1944). Raksin later adapted it as a pop song (with lyrics by Johnny Mercer) and it has been recorded over 400 times. Cole Porter told Raksin it was the one tune he wished he had written. In 1951 Raksin testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee; he admitted to having belonged to the communist party from 1938 to 1940, and avoided the blacklist by identifying 11 fellow members (taking care to name only those who were dead or already known to HUAC). Raksin taught at UCLA from 1970 to 1992 and was the first film composer asked to donate his manuscripts to the Library of Congress. At the time of his death at 92, Raksin was regarded as The Elder Statesman of American film music.
Film Composer. He first came to Hollywood in 1935 to arrange Charles Chaplin's score for "Modern Times" (1936), and went on to work for Warner Bros., Fox, and MGM. Raksin's scores for film and TV include "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (1939), "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" (1939), "Fallen Angel" (1945), "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1947), "Force of Evil" (1948), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), "Pat and Mike" (1952), "Will Penny" (1968), and "The Day After" (1983), and he received Oscar nominations for "Forever Amber" (1947) and "Seperate Tables" (1958). But he is best remembered for his haunting theme for the classic noir mystery "Laura" (1944). Raksin later adapted it as a pop song (with lyrics by Johnny Mercer) and it has been recorded over 400 times. Cole Porter told Raksin it was the one tune he wished he had written. In 1951 Raksin testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee; he admitted to having belonged to the communist party from 1938 to 1940, and avoided the blacklist by identifying 11 fellow members (taking care to name only those who were dead or already known to HUAC). Raksin taught at UCLA from 1970 to 1992 and was the first film composer asked to donate his manuscripts to the Library of Congress. At the time of his death at 92, Raksin was regarded as The Elder Statesman of American film music.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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