SAUL CHAPLIN
Name: Saul Chaplin
Birth name: Saul Kaplan
Born: 19 February 1912 Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died: 15 November 1997 Los Angeles, California, USA
Saul Chaplin (February 19, 1912 – November 15, 1997) was one of Hollywood's
preeminent composers and musical directors.
He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York. He had worked on stage, screen
and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley. In film, he won four Oscars for
collaborating on the scores and orchestrations of An American in Paris (1951),
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and West Side Story (1961).
Following education at New York University's School of Commerce, Chaplin joined
the ASCAP and started out penning tunes for the theatre, vaudeville and for New
York's famous songwriting district, Tin Pan Alley. While in New York, Chaplin
teamed with Sammy Cahn to compose original songs for Vitaphone movie shorts,
filmed in Brooklyn by Warner Brothers. During this period the team was sometimes
billed only by surname ("Cahn and Chaplin"), in the manner of Rodgers and Hart
or Gilbert and Sullivan.
Cahn and Chaplin relocated to Hollywood and scored two films for Universal
Pictures. Chaplin then moved to Columbia Pictures to score Cover Girl and The
Jolson Story. While on the latter film, Chaplin and Al Jolson penned the million-selling
hit tune The Anniversary Song. In the late 1940s, Chaplin moved to MGM to work
on a long string of films including On the Town (1949), Kiss Me, Kate (1953),
High Society (1956) and Merry Andrew (1958). For collaborating on such hits as
Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen and Please Be Kind, Chaplin was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985.
While he still continued composing, Chaplin became a movie producer in the early
'60s and was behind such major features as West Side Story (1961), Can-Can (1960),
I Could Go On Singing (1963), The Sound of Music (1965), STAR! (1968), Man of La
Mancha (1972) and That's Entertainment, Part 2 (1976). He won Academy Awards for
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, An American in Paris and West Side Story as
well as a nomination for High Society.
He published his autobiography, The Golden Age of Movie Musicals and Me in 1994.
Chaplin worked with and was friends with most of the major songwriters and
performers of his era, such as Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Al Jolson, Leonard
Bernstein, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, Julie Andrews, Frank Sinatra
and others. His memoir focused on the behind the scenes aspect of moviemaking.
Chaplin was married to Betty Levin, who worked as script supervisor on The Sound
of Music. In late 1997, the 85-year-old Chaplin suffered a bad fall and on
November 15 died as a result of his injuries in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Name: Saul Chaplin
Birth name: Saul Kaplan
Born: 19 February 1912 Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died: 15 November 1997 Los Angeles, California, USA
Saul Chaplin (February 19, 1912 – November 15, 1997) was one of Hollywood's
preeminent composers and musical directors.
He was born Saul Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York. He had worked on stage, screen
and television since the days of Tin Pan Alley. In film, he won four Oscars for
collaborating on the scores and orchestrations of An American in Paris (1951),
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and West Side Story (1961).
Following education at New York University's School of Commerce, Chaplin joined
the ASCAP and started out penning tunes for the theatre, vaudeville and for New
York's famous songwriting district, Tin Pan Alley. While in New York, Chaplin
teamed with Sammy Cahn to compose original songs for Vitaphone movie shorts,
filmed in Brooklyn by Warner Brothers. During this period the team was sometimes
billed only by surname ("Cahn and Chaplin"), in the manner of Rodgers and Hart
or Gilbert and Sullivan.
Cahn and Chaplin relocated to Hollywood and scored two films for Universal
Pictures. Chaplin then moved to Columbia Pictures to score Cover Girl and The
Jolson Story. While on the latter film, Chaplin and Al Jolson penned the million-selling
hit tune The Anniversary Song. In the late 1940s, Chaplin moved to MGM to work
on a long string of films including On the Town (1949), Kiss Me, Kate (1953),
High Society (1956) and Merry Andrew (1958). For collaborating on such hits as
Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen and Please Be Kind, Chaplin was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985.
While he still continued composing, Chaplin became a movie producer in the early
'60s and was behind such major features as West Side Story (1961), Can-Can (1960),
I Could Go On Singing (1963), The Sound of Music (1965), STAR! (1968), Man of La
Mancha (1972) and That's Entertainment, Part 2 (1976). He won Academy Awards for
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, An American in Paris and West Side Story as
well as a nomination for High Society.
He published his autobiography, The Golden Age of Movie Musicals and Me in 1994.
Chaplin worked with and was friends with most of the major songwriters and
performers of his era, such as Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Al Jolson, Leonard
Bernstein, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, Julie Andrews, Frank Sinatra
and others. His memoir focused on the behind the scenes aspect of moviemaking.
Chaplin was married to Betty Levin, who worked as script supervisor on The Sound
of Music. In late 1997, the 85-year-old Chaplin suffered a bad fall and on
November 15 died as a result of his injuries in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.