Raymond John Heindorf (August 25, 1908 – February 3, 1980) was an American composer and songwriter who was noted for his work in film.
Early life
Born in Haverstraw, New York, Heindorf worked as a pianist in a silent movie house in Mechanicville in his early teens.[1] In 1928, he moved to New York City, where he landed a job as a musical arranger before heading to Hollywood in late February 1929.[2] He gained his first job as an orchestrator at MGM, where he worked on Hollywood Revue of 1929, and subsequently went on the road playing piano for Lupe Vélez.[1]
Hollywood years
After completing the tour with Vélez, Heindorf joined Warner Bros., composing, arranging and conducting music exclusively for the studio for nearly forty years. He, along with George Stoll at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, were jazz aficionados well known in the black entertainment community for employing minority musicians in their studio music departments.[3]
Between 1942 and 1969, Heindorf was nominated for eighteen Academy Awards, seventeen of them for Best Score and one nomination for Best Song. He won three times in the category of Best Score of a Musical, for Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), This is the Army (1943), and The Music Man (1962). His awards in 1942 and '43 made him one of the first composers or songwriters to win Oscars in consecutive years in a musical category.[1][7]
Jazz recordings
Heindorf was a friend and admirer of jazz pianist Art Tatum. As a gift for their mutual friends, Heindorf hosted two Tatum piano performances at his Hollywood home in 1950 and 1955. He recorded these private concerts, which were issued as Art Tatum: 20th Century Piano Genius on the Verve label.
Personal life
Census records from 1930 show that Heindorf was living at the time in the Hollywood Hills with his friend Arthur Lange, a bandleader and composer.[8] Heindorf was later married and divorced twice and had three children. His son Michael was also a film composer.[1]
Heindorf died in Tarzana, California, aged 71, and reputedly was buried with his favorite conducting baton.[9]
^ Fifteenth Census of the U.S., United States census, 1930; Los Angeles, California; roll 134, page 5A, line 13–14, enumeration district 0065, Family History film 2339869. Retrieved on 28 February 2014.
