Jerry Fielding
Encyclopedia
Jerry Fielding was an American
radio, record, film
and television composer, conductor
, and musical director
.
, to Hiram Harris Feldman and Esther Feldman. After trying the trombone
, he took up the clarinet
and joined the school band. He was offered a scholarship to the Carnegie Institute for Instrumentalists
. After a short attendance, because of ill health he was bedridden for two years with an undiagnosed ailment. While housebound, he listened to the radio, and became a fan of the big band
sound and Bernard Herrmann
’s music for Orson Welles
’s radio dramas.
. He worked with Max Atkins (the pit orchestra conductor at the Stanley) who taught him composition and arranging. At the age of seventeen, he left Pittsburgh to work for Alvino Rey
’s swing band. His arrangement of Picnic in Purgatory in 1940 became highly popular.
This job ended when most of the band was drafted. He was too frail for service. He became vocal arranger for Lucy Ann Polk
’s Town Criers and then joined Kay Kyser
’s band. He became their chief arranger in 1945. He also arranged for the big bands of Claude Thornhill
, Jimmie Lunceford
, Tommy Dorsey
, Charlie Barnet
, and Les Brown
.
Fieding's first chance at backing a vocalist came in 1958 for Ruth Olay
's Easy Living LP on Mercury Records
. In 1959, Fielding signed on with Signature Records
for a series of albums, starting with a Christmas disk.
, and the Sweeney and March Show. He led the band for several years of Groucho Marx
’s You Bet Your Life
and was also with the television version of You Bet Your Life from 1949-1952. For radio and recording purposes, he formed the Jerry Fielding Orchestra.
in December 1953. He took the Fifth Amendment
, refusing to divulge the names of fellow members, and was then blacklist
ed by the Hollywood film and television studios. In Las Vegas, Nevada
he led a band at the Royal Las Vegas Hotel, and he also toured for the only time with his name orchestra. He also recorded albums for Decca Records
including Sweet with a Beat (released 1955) and Fielding’s Formula (1957).
selected him for the score of Advise and Consent
, his first major film composition.
TV series, building on his previous musical arranging and conducting work with Hutton. Fielding is well known for scoring two episodes of the first Star Trek
television series: The Trouble with Tribbles and Spectre of the Gun. He also wrote the title themes for such classic TV shows as McHale's Navy
, Hogan's Heroes
, Run, Buddy, Run
, He & She
and The Bionic Woman
.
, Michael Winner
, and Sam Peckinpah
, most of which were collaborations in traditionally masculine-themed genres like westerns and action films, Fielding's background in jazz gave him the versatility to produce such diverse works as The Nightcomers
(1972), a neo-romantic musical score for acoustic orchestra (reputed to be the work of which he was most proud), to Demon Seed
(1977), a startling musical work that included electronic instruments and non-tonal passages. He also did notable work with Kolchak: The Night Stalker
(1974) and also The Bad News Bears (1976) of which the score is an adaptation of the principal themes of Carmen
.
. The couple adopted two children. This marriage ended in the spring of 1963. His second marriage took place on August 6, 1963, to Camille J. Williams, a Las Vegas dancer. They had two children.
He died, at the age of 57, from a heart attack
followed by congestive heart failure, while in Toronto
where he was scoring the motion picture Funeral Home. He was survived by wife Camille and two daughters: Claudia and Elizabeth. He is interred in Crypt 30 at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
On Thursday November 12, 2009, Jerry Fielding was awarded a lifetime achievement award for his composition in "The Wild Bunch" which celebrated its 40th anniversary. It was received by his daughter Claudia Fielding.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio, record, film
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
and television composer, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, and musical director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
.
Childhood and education
Jerry Fielding was born as Joshua Itzhak Feldman in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, to Hiram Harris Feldman and Esther Feldman. After trying the trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, he took up the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and joined the school band. He was offered a scholarship to the Carnegie Institute for Instrumentalists
Carnegie Mellon School of Music
The Carnegie Mellon School of Music in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a degree-granting institution founded in 1912 as a one of five divisions of Carnegie Mellon University's College of Fine Arts....
. After a short attendance, because of ill health he was bedridden for two years with an undiagnosed ailment. While housebound, he listened to the radio, and became a fan of the big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
sound and Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
’s music for Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
’s radio dramas.
Arranger and Band Leader
Somewhat recuperated, he worked at Pittsburgh’s Stanley TheaterBenedum Center
The Benedum Center for the Performing Arts is a theater and concert hall located at 719 Liberty Avenue in the Cultural District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. He worked with Max Atkins (the pit orchestra conductor at the Stanley) who taught him composition and arranging. At the age of seventeen, he left Pittsburgh to work for Alvino Rey
Alvino Rey
Alvin McBurney , known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American swing era musician and pioneer, often credited as the father of the pedal steel guitar...
’s swing band. His arrangement of Picnic in Purgatory in 1940 became highly popular.
This job ended when most of the band was drafted. He was too frail for service. He became vocal arranger for Lucy Ann Polk
Lucy Ann Polk
Lucy Ann Polk is an American jazz and big band vocalist. Miss Polk is perhaps best known for her period with Les Brown's orchestra in the mid-fifties, a time when the band was considered to be at its best, featuring such talents as tenor saxophonist Dave Pell and trumpeter Don Fagerquist...
’s Town Criers and then joined Kay Kyser
Kay Kyser
James Kern Kyser was a popular bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early years:He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster Kyser. Editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin...
’s band. He became their chief arranger in 1945. He also arranged for the big bands of Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader...
, Jimmie Lunceford
Jimmie Lunceford
James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.-Biography:...
, Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
, Charlie Barnet
Charlie Barnet
Charles Daly Barnet was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.His major recordings were "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffle".-Early life:...
, and Les Brown
Les Brown (bandleader)
Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
.
Fieding's first chance at backing a vocalist came in 1958 for Ruth Olay
Ruth Olay
Ruth Olay is a jazz singer with Hungarian ancestry who was born in San Francisco, the daughter of a Rabbi and a professional chorister mother...
's Easy Living LP on Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. In 1959, Fielding signed on with Signature Records
Signature Records
Signature Records was a mid-20th century United States based record label. Noted Signature recording artists included Anita O'Day, Coleman Hawkins, Eddie Lawrence, Ray Anthony, Barbara McNair, Monica Lewis, Dickie Thompson, Jane Harvey, Kay Thompson and Alan Dale. Bob Thiele produced records for...
for a series of albums, starting with a Christmas disk.
Radio work
Fielding arranged for Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge radio program, and then became the band leader for several radio programs: The Jack Paar Program (1947–1949), The Hardy Family 1952-1953, as well as work on The Life of RileyThe Life of Riley
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, is a popular American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a long-run 1950s television series , and a 1958 Dell comic book...
, and the Sweeney and March Show. He led the band for several years of Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
’s You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September...
and was also with the television version of You Bet Your Life from 1949-1952. For radio and recording purposes, he formed the Jerry Fielding Orchestra.
Blacklisted in Hollywood
Due to his membership with the Hollywood Writers Mobilization (later the Independent Progressive party, groups considered by some to be communist fronts) he was called before the House Un-American Activities CommitteeHouse Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
in December 1953. He took the Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
, refusing to divulge the names of fellow members, and was then blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
ed by the Hollywood film and television studios. In Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
he led a band at the Royal Las Vegas Hotel, and he also toured for the only time with his name orchestra. He also recorded albums for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
including Sweet with a Beat (released 1955) and Fielding’s Formula (1957).
Return to Hollywood
Fielding's Hollywood lockout continued until 1961. In 1962, Otto PremingerOtto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
selected him for the score of Advise and Consent
Advise and Consent (film)
Advise & Consent is a 1962 American motion picture based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Allen Drury, published in 1959. The movie was adapted for the screen by Wendell Mayes and was directed by Otto Preminger...
, his first major film composition.
Television work
In 1959, Fielding was assigned to direct a short-lived Betty HuttonBetty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
TV series, building on his previous musical arranging and conducting work with Hutton. Fielding is well known for scoring two episodes of the first Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
television series: The Trouble with Tribbles and Spectre of the Gun. He also wrote the title themes for such classic TV shows as McHale's Navy
McHale's Navy
McHale's Navy is an American television sitcom series which ran for 138 half-hour episodes from October 11,1962, to August 31, 1966, on the ABC network. The series was filmed in black and white and originated in a one-hour drama called Seven Against the Sea, broadcast on April 3, 1962...
, Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
, Run, Buddy, Run
Run, Buddy, Run
Run, Buddy, Run is a 16-episode situation comedy starring Jack Sheldon, which ran on CBS television from September 12, 1966, until January 2, 1967. Sheldon, also a trumpet player, portrayed Buddy Overstreet, an "ordinary guy", an accountant, on the run from a group of comical gangsters. As the plot...
, He & She
He & She
He & She is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network as part of its 1967-68 lineup, originally sponsored by General Foods and Lever Brothers. This landmark sitcom is widely considered to be ahead of its time by broadcast historians...
and The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
.
Film composition
While well-known for his scores for such filmmakers as Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Michael Winner
Michael Winner
Michael Robert Winner is a British film director and producer, active in both Europe and the United States, also known as a food critic for the Sunday Times.-Early life and early career :...
, and Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
, most of which were collaborations in traditionally masculine-themed genres like westerns and action films, Fielding's background in jazz gave him the versatility to produce such diverse works as The Nightcomers
The Nightcomers
The Nightcomers is a 1971 British horror film directed by Michael Winner and starring Marlon Brando, Stephanie Beacham, Thora Hird, Harry Andrews and Anna Palk. It is a prequel to The Turn of the Screw.- Plot :...
(1972), a neo-romantic musical score for acoustic orchestra (reputed to be the work of which he was most proud), to Demon Seed
Demon Seed
Demon Seed is a 1977 American science fiction–horror film starring Julie Christie and directed by Donald Cammell. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz, and concerns the imprisonment and forced impregnation of a woman by an artificially-intelligent...
(1977), a startling musical work that included electronic instruments and non-tonal passages. He also did notable work with Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...
(1974) and also The Bad News Bears (1976) of which the score is an adaptation of the principal themes of Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
.
Personal life
Fielding married twice, first to Kay Kyser band production assistant, Ann Parks, in December 1946 in TijuanaTijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
. The couple adopted two children. This marriage ended in the spring of 1963. His second marriage took place on August 6, 1963, to Camille J. Williams, a Las Vegas dancer. They had two children.
He died, at the age of 57, from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
followed by congestive heart failure, while in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
where he was scoring the motion picture Funeral Home. He was survived by wife Camille and two daughters: Claudia and Elizabeth. He is interred in Crypt 30 at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Film or series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Academy Award | Nominated | Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) | The Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913... |
| 1972 | Best Music, Original Dramatic Score | Straw Dogs | ||
| 1977 | Best Music, Original Score | The Outlaw Josey Wales The Outlaw Josey Wales The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 American revisionist Western film set during and after the end of the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood , with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldine Keams.The film was adapted by Sonia Chernus and Philip Kaufman... |
||
| 1980 | Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) | High Midnight |
On Thursday November 12, 2009, Jerry Fielding was awarded a lifetime achievement award for his composition in "The Wild Bunch" which celebrated its 40th anniversary. It was received by his daughter Claudia Fielding.
External links
- Demon Seed score on compact disc
- Jerry Fielding, From the Bands to the Films - interview by Les Tomkins in 1974
- Jerry Fielding Interview - a conversation with David Raksin; Originally published in Soundtrack Magazine No.58, 1980
- Jerry Fielding Biography and LP Discography
- Film Discography from Soundtrack Collector
- An article in french about Jerry Fielding