Eugene Frederick Rodemich (born April 13, 1890, St Louis, Missouri, died February 27, 1934, New York, age 43) was a pianist and orchestra leader, who composed the music for Frank Buck

Frank Buck (animal collector)

Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...

’s first movie, Bring 'Em Back Alive (1932) .

Early life

Rodemich was born in St. Louis, son of a dentist, Dr. Henry Rodemich, and wife Rose Rodemich. Gene Rodemich began his musical career in and near his home town as a pianist, later becoming conductor of a dance orchestra. He was accompanist for Elsie Janis

Elsie Janis

Elsie Janis was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and screenwriter. Entertaining the troops during World War I immortalized her as "the sweetheart of the AEF" .-Early career:...

 on several tours, including one in Europe. Before starting in radio in New York, 1929, he had for three years been director and master of ceremonies at the Metropolitan Theatre

Metropolitan Theatre

Metropolitan Theatre is an historic building at 252-272 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts.The theater was built in 1923 by Blackall,Clapp & Whittemore and was added to the National Historic Register in 1980....

, Boston.

Later career

Rodemich was musical director of Van Beuren Studios

Van Beuren Studios

Van Beuren Studios was an American animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons from 1928 to 1936.Producer Amedee J. van Beuren first became involved in the animation industry in 1920, when he formed a partnership with Paul Terry and formed the "Aesop's Fables Studio" for the production of...

, writing music for animated cartoons. He composed for many of the studio’s other shorts (including six Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...

 comedies) and for Frank Buck

Frank Buck (animal collector)

Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...

’s first feature-length film, Bring 'Em Back Alive (1932). He also conducted during numerous NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 programs and recorded for Brunswick Records

Brunswick Records

Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...

.

Death

Rodemich became ill while making a recording with his orchestra, which had been accompanying a National Broadcasting Company program on Sunday nights. He insisted on continuing the recording although he had been stricken with a severe chill. He was taken to the Medical Arts Sanitarium, 57 West Fifty-Seventh Street, and died three days later of lobar pneumonia

Lobar pneumonia

Lobar pneumonia is a form of pneumonia that affects a large and continuous area of the lobe of a lung.It is one of the two anatomic classifications of pneumonia .- Symptoms :...

. He is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery

Ferncliff Cemetery

Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian...

, Hartsdale, New York. A widow, a son, and a daughter survived him.