Robert A. "Bobo" King
b. Sept. 20, 1862 New York, NY, USA, d. April 13, 1932, New York, NY, USA.
né: Robert Keiser
At only age six, Robert was already taking piano lessons. He took a job in Ditson's music store as a young boy. A little later, Leo Feist, the Tin Pan Alley publisher, hired the youngster, and before long, he was writing pop songs. In 1903, he had his very first hit song with "Anona".

King was one of those truly prolific composers whose output is not counted. He wrote songs under his own name, under pseudonyms (very often a feminine name), and even anonymously! As a result, there is now no way to estimate his total output.

During WW1, King, like other composers, wrote inspirational war songs. Among them, we find:
"Lafayette, We Hear You Calling"
"When the Boys Come Home"

In 1918, he went to work for Shapiro-Bernstein Music Publishers under a contract to produce 4 songs per month. Two of the songs he composed under this contract were big hits:
      1918 "Beautiful Ohio", lyric by Ballard Smith
      1919 "Dreamy Alabama", words and lyric by King. (published under pseudonym of Mary Earl.)

Some of the songs that are directly traceable to King are:
       "Beautiful Hawaii"
       "In Old Manila"
       "Isle Of Paradise"
       "Hawaiian Smiles"
       "I Ain't Nobody's Darling"
       "Why Did I Kiss That Girl"
       "Just Like a Rainbow"
       "Apple Blossoms"
       "I Scream, You Scream"
       "Ain't My Baby Grand"
       "Moonlight on the Colorado"

During the course of his career, he also composed various concert pieces including Gavottes; Polkas; Marches, and Waltzes.

   Ed Kirby
Currently no information available.
This lyricist was very active in the 1930s and 1940s, and very often worked with Thomas "Fats" Waller's music. Among his many lyrics are:
"All That Meat And No Potatoes"
"Aloysius Do The Dishes"
"Cash For Your Trash"
"Deep River"
"Down By The Riverside"
"Dream Girl"
"Ezekiel Saw The Wheel"
"He's Got The Whole World In His Hands"
"Little David Play On Your Harp"
"My Castle On The River Nile"
"Pantin' in the Panther Room"
"Swiss Yodel Song"
"Up Jumped You With Love"
"Why Adam Sinned"
"You're My Ideal"
It's difficult to understand why this lyricist isn't more widely known.

   Wojciech Kilar
b. 17 July 1932, L'vov Poland. [now Ukraine]
Currently no information on this Polish composer who studied under 'Nadia Boulanger' in Paris, France. Kilar was most active during the late 1950s through the turn of the 21 Century, having worked on over 145 films. His score for the 1999 film "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was rejected. Among the films for which he contributed scores or other music, are:
 Zycie Jako Smiertelna Choroba Przenoszona Droga Plciowa (2000)
   aka in English: Life As a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease
 Pan Tadeusz (1999)
   aka French Title: Pan Tadeusz - Quand Napoleon traversait le Niemen
   aka Eng. Title: Pan Tadeusz: The Last Foray in Lithuania
 Tydzien z Zycia Mezczyzny (1999. aka Week in the Life of a Man, A)
 Ninth Gate, The (1999)
   aka French Title: Neuvi�e Porte, La
   aka Spanish Title: Novena Puerta, La
 Truman Show, The (1998 -- from "Zycie Za Zycie (1991)")
 City of Angels (1998 - He composed one cue)
   aka German Title: Stadt der Engel

  Our God's Brother (1997)
   aka Polish Title: Brat Naszego Boga
 Damski Interes (1996)
 Opowiesci Weekendowe - Slaba Wiara (1996 TV)
 Urok Wszetecznicy (1996)
 Portrait of a Lady, The (1996)
 Cwal (1996. aka: At Full Gallop. aka: In Full Gallop)
 Fant�e avec Chauffeur (1996)
 Death and the Maiden (1994)
   aka French Title: Jeune Fille et la Mort, La
 Faustyna (1994)
 Legenda Tatr (1994)
 Smierc jak kromka chleba (1994. aka English Title: Death as a Slice of Bread)
 "K�ig der letzten Tage" (1993. mini-TV Series)

  Dotkniecie reki (1992)
   aka Swedish Title: Ber�ingen
   aka Danish Title: Silent Touch, The
   aka English Title: Touch, The
 Dracula (1992 -also Orchestrator. aka (USA): Bram Stoker's Dracula
 Lange Gespr�h mit dem Vogel, Das (1992 For German TV)
   aka Dluga Rozmowa z Ptakiem (1992 For Poland TV)
   aka Long Conversation with a Bird (1992 for English TV)
 Zycie Za Zycie (1991)
   aka: Leben fr Leben - Maximilian Kolbe
   aka: Life for Life
   aka: Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe
   aka: Zycie za zycie - Maksymilian Kolbe

  "Napol�n et l'Europe" (1991 mini-TV Series)
 Korczak (1990)
 Napoleon (1990 TV)
 Retour, Le (1990. aka Return, The)
 Stan posiadania (1989. aka Inventory)
 Gdzieskolwiek Jest, Jeslis Jest (1988. aka Wherever You Are)
 Table tournante, La (1988)
 Salsa (1988)
 Wygasle czasy (1987 TV)
 Kronika Wypadk� Milosnych (1986)
   aka: Chronicle of Amorous Accidents
   aka: Chronicle of Love Affairs
 Wkrotce nadejda bracia (1986. aka Brothers Will Come Soon, The)

  Paradigma (1985)
      aka: French Title: Pouvoir du mal, Le
      aka: English Title: Power of Evil
 Na strazy swej stac bede (1984. aka I Shall Always Stand Guard)
 Na wszystkich niedostepnych drogach (1984)
 Rok spokojnego slonca (1984. aka Year of the Quiet Sun, The)
 Marynia (1983)
 Sinobrody (1983)
 Watykan - Stolica Kultury (1983)
 Imperativ (1982)
   aka (USA): Imperative
   aka (Poland): Imperatyw
   aka (France): Imp�atif, L'

  Przypadek (1982. aka: Blind Chance)
 Unerreichbare, Die (1982 TV. aka English title: Unapproachable, The)
 Pokuszenie (1981)
 Z dalekiego kraju (1981 TV)
   aka: From a Far Country
   aka: From a Far Country: Pope John Paul II
 Kontrakt (1980. aka (USA) Contract, The
 Paciorki jednego rozanca (1980. aka: Beads of One Rosary, The)
 Rod Gasienicow (1980 TV)
 Constans (1980)
    aka: Constancy
   aka (USA): Constant Factor, The
 Roi et l'oiseau, Le (1979)
 Wege in der Nacht (1979 TV)
   aka: Drogi Wsr� Nocy
   aka (USA): Ways in the Night

  David (1979/I)
 "Rodzina Polanieckich" (1978 TV Series)
 Spirala (1978. aka Spiral)
 Z Punktu Widzenia Nocnego Portiera (1978. aka Night Porter's Point of View)
 Barwy ochronne (1977. aka (USA): Camouflage
 Brigitte Horney (1977)
 Haus der Frauen (1977 TV)
 Lekcja anatomii (1977 TV)
 Ptaki ptakom (1977. aka Birds to Birds)
 Jaroslaw Dabrowski (1976)
 Smuga cienia (1976. aka Shadow Line, The)
 Tredowata (1976. aka: Leper)
 Bilans Kwartalny (1975)
   aka: Quarterly Balance, The
   aka: Woman's Decision, A

  Linia (1975. aka: Line, The)
 Nachtdienst (1975 TV)
 Trzecia granica (1975 TV. aka Third Border)
 Znikad do nikad (1975. aka From Nowhere to Nowhere)
 Drzwi w murze (1974. aka Wicket Gate, The)
 Hubal (1974)
 Pittsville - Ein Safe voll Blut (1974)
   aka (USA): Catamount Killing, The
   aka (German): Lohngelder fr Pittsville
   aka (Poland): Zab�stwo w Catamount
 Ziemia obiecana (1974. aka: Land of Promise. aka: Promised Land, The)
 Iluminacja (1973. aka: Illumination)

  Opetanie (1973)
    aka: Obsession (1973)
 Zazdrosc i medycyna (1973. aka: Jealousy and Medicine)
 Boleslaw Smialy (1972. aka: King Boleslaus the Bold)
 Brylanty Pani Zuzy (1972. aka: Diamonds of Mrs. Zuza)
 Hipoteza (1972 TV)
 Perla w Koronie (1972. aka: Pearl in the Crown)
 Szklana Kula (1972. aka: Crystal Ball)
 Wielka Milosc Balzaka: (1972 TV)
 Gwiazda Wytrwalosci (1971 TV)
 Martwa Fala (1971. aka: Calm Flat)
 Pierscien krolowej Anny (1971)
   aka: Ring of Princess Ann, The
   aka: Ring of Queen Ann, The
 Przystan (1971. aka: Haven)

  Rola (1971 TV. aka (West Germany: Rolle, Die)
 Zycie rodzinne (1971. aka: Family Life)
 G�y o zmierzchu (1970 TV)
 Lokis (1970. aka: Bear, The)
 Rejs (1970. aka: Cruise, The)
 Romantyczni (1970. aka: Romantic People)
 Sol Ziemi Czarnej (1970. aka: Salt of the Black Earth)
 "Przygody Pana Michala" (1969 TV Series)
 Czerwone i zlote (1969 aka: Red and the Gold, The)
 Czlowiek z M-3 (1969. aka: Man with an Apartment)
 Lalka (1969. aka: Doll, The (1969)
 Molo (1969. aka: Pier, The (1969)

  Samotnosc We Dwoje (1969. aka: Loneliness for Two)
 Sasiedzi (1969. aka: Neighbours, The)
 Struktura krysztalu (1969. aka: Structure of Crystal, The)
 Tylko umarly odpowie (1969. aka: Only the Dead Can Answer)
 Zbrodniarz, kt�y ukradl zbrodnie (1969. aka: Criminal Who Stole a Crime, The)
 Dancing w kwaterze Hitlera (1968. aka: Dancing Party in Hitler's Headquarters)
 Ostatni po Bogu (1968. aka: Last After the God)
 Tabliczka Marzenia (1968. aka: Dreaming Tablet)
 Wilcze Echa (1968. aka: Wolves' Echoes)
 Cala Naprzod (1967. aka: Full Ahead)
 Chudy i Inni (1967. aka: Skinny and Others)
 Maria Sklodowska-Curie (1967)

  Morderca Zostawia Slad (1967)
   aka: Killer Leaves a Trace, The
   aka: Murderer Leaves a Clue, The
 Powrot na ziemie (1967. aka: Return to Earth (1967)
 Pozne popoludnie (1967. aka: Late Afternoon (1967)
 Sami swoi (1967. aka: Our Folks (1967)
 Stajnia na Salwatorze (1967. aka: Stall on Salvador (1967)
 Upi� (1967 TV)
 Wstep do Wiedzy o Sztuce - Artysta (1967)
 Westerplatte (1967. aka: Westerplatte Resists)
 Bicz Bozy (1967. aka: God's Whip)
 Bumerang (1966. aka: Boomerang)
 Jutro Meksyk (1966. aka: Mexico Tomorrow. aka: Tomorrow Mexico)
 Katastrofa (1966. aka: Catastrophe)

  Ktokolwiek Wie (1966. aka: Whoever May Know)
 Marysia i Napoleon (1966. aka: Maria and Napoleon)
 Pieklo i niebo (1966. aka: Hell and Heaven)
 Obok prawdy (1965. aka: By the Truth)
 Salto (1965. aka: Dance, The. aka: Jump)
 Trzy kroki po ziemi (1965. aka: Three Steps on Earth)
 Wyspa zloczyncow (1965. aka: Island of Delinquents, The)
 Ciemnogrod (1964)
 Echo (1964)

  Pieciu (1964. aka: Five (1964)
 Giuseppe w Warszawie (1964.aka: Giuseppe in Warsaw. aka: Italian in Warsaw, An)
 Czerwone berety (1963. aka: Red Berets)
 Daleka jest droga (1963. aka: Far Is the Road)
 Kryptonim Nektar (1963. aka: Codename Nectar)
 Mansarda (1963. aka: Penthouse, The)
 Milczenie (1963. aka: Silence)
 Glos z tamtego swiata (1962. aka: Voice from Beyond, The)
 I ty zostaniesz Indianinem (1962. aka: And You Will Become an Indian)
 Rodzina Milczarkow (1962. aka: Milczarek Family, The)
 Spotkanie w 'Bajce' (1962. aka: Cafe from the Past)
 Tarpany (1962. aka: Wild Horses)
 Milczace slady (1961. aka: Silent Traces)
 Nikt nie wola (1960. aka: Nobody's Calling)
 Lunatycy (1959. aka: Moonwalkers, The)
 Narciarze (1958)

   David Kitay
This composer active career currently spans the late 1980s through the early 21st century. In 1989, he appeared on screen as an actor in the band for the film "Always". Among the films to which he contributed are:
 Dude, Where's My Car? (2000)
 "Madigan Men" (2000) TV Series
 Loser (2000)
 Scary Movie (2000)
 Mary and Rhoda (2000 TV)
 Night at the Roxbury, A (1998)
 Can't Hardly Wait (1998)
 Solomon & Sheba (1995 TV)
 Clueless (1995. aka: I Was a Teenage Teenager. aka: No Worries)
 Jury Duty (1995)
 Stoned Age, The (1994. aka Tack's Chicks)
 Trading Mom (1994. aka: Mommy Market, The)
 Father and Scout (1994 TV)
 Roosters (1993)
 Surf Ninjas (1993. aka: Surf Warriors)
 Breaking the Rules (1992. aka: Sketches)
 Boris and Natasha (1992)
 Problem Child 2 (1991)
 Look Who's Talking Too (1990)
 Look Who's Talking (1989. aka: Daddy's Home)
 Under the Boardwalk (1989)
 Night Stalker, The (1987)

   Harald Kloser
Currently no information on this composer who has contributed to both Television and Films (late 1970s through early 21st century). His spouse (? - present) is D�ir� Nosbusch. Among his works are:
 Ali: An American Hero (2000 TV)
 Deliberate Intent (2000 TV)
 Handvoll Gras, Eine (2000. aka English title: Handful of Grass, A)
 Marlene (2000)
 Venice Project, The (1999)
 Thirteenth Floor, The (1999. also was conductor and orchestrator)
 Heilige Hure, Die (1998 TV)
 6 Stunden Angst (1997)
 Amazon Jack (1997)
 Frucht der Gewalt (1997 TV. aka (USA): Delayed Exposure)
 Comedian Harmonists (1997. aka (USA 1999) Harmonists, The)
 Quiet Days in Hollywood (1997. aka Way We Are, The)
 Unfisch, Der (1997. aka (USA): Unfish, The)
 Further Gesture, A (1996. aka (USA): Break, The)
 Magenta (1996)
 Mein Papa ist Kein M�der (1996 TV)
 If Looks Could Kill (1996 TV)
  aka: If Looks Could Kill: From the Files of 'America's Most Wanted'
 "Partner, Die" (1995 TV Series)
 O.J. Simpson Story, The (1995 TV)
 Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald (1993 TV. aka Marina's Story)
 Ach, Boris (1990)
 Butterbrot (1990)
 Requiem fr Dominik (1990. aka (USA): Requiem for Dominic)
 "Jolly Joker" (1989 TV Series)
 Sternberg - Shooting Star (1988)
 "Alte, Der" (1977 TV Series)

Among his other works are recordings with:
 Al Jarreau, WEA
 Klaus Lage, EastWest
 Elton John, MCA
 Jos�Feliciano, EMI
 Tom Waits, EMI
 Falco, EMI
 John Parr, Metronome

An album, 'SOS-United', for EMI won the Golden Europa Award, for best album of the year 1990. He also contributed music for Enertopia, Special-Format 3D Film, World Fair, Korea and worked at the Bavaria Filmpark, Bavaria Film, Germany

   Raymond Klages
Currently no information available for this lyricist.
1933 "Roll Up The Carpet", co-lyric Al Goodheart, Al Hoffman tune.

   Edward Kleban
How many folks today recall that Edward Kleban wrote the lyrics for the 1975 Broadway hit show "A Chorus Line"? One of his lady friends had introduced him to director-choreographer Michael Bennett, then hard at work on a little show about Broadway dancers. Bennett hooked Kleban up with composer Marvin Hamlisch, and that creative partnership, produced the score for "A Chorus Line", - Kleban's only Broadway musical hit show.

Kleban was odd. A hypochrondriac, he was often depressed, at times unlikable, and highly critical of others and himself. For awhile, he studied at legendary Broadway conductor Lehman Engel's BMI songwriting workshop for aspiring musical theater composers and lyricists.

Some critics find Kleban's music to be somewhat quirky. His beguiling melodies are not exactly pop and not exactly Sondheim, but never-the-less they are intelligent with witty lyrics. (Perhaps his tune "One" best shows these qualities.)

In the history of American musical theater, Kleban will probably always be just a footnote. He blazed to glory with only the one show (A Chorus Line) and then, -nothing. In 1987, Edward Kleban died of cancer. He was just 48 years old.

   Manuel Klein
b. Dec. 6. 1876 London, England d. June 1, 1919 London, England
This Englishman had a very distinguished family. One brother, Charles, became a famous playwright; another brother, Alfred, became a famous actor, and the third brother, Herman, became a well known music critic.

Manuel received his music training at an early age. He came to the U.S. as a young man, in the early 1900's. He soon wrote his first Broadway score for the musical 'Mr. Pickwick', starring De Wolf Hopper. Grant Stewart wrote the lyric, and Klein's brother wrote the text.

Gus Edwards, the famous music publisher-songwriter-vaudevillian, helped Klein to get the job of musical director of New York's prestigious Hippodrome Theater. Klein led the pit band, and was soon composing songs for the productions.

Brief Chronology of the Hippodrome shows with Klein's music:
----------------
1905 'The Society Circus': "Moon Dear", words and music by Klein.
1906 'The Man From Now', starring De Wolf Hopper
1906 'Pioneer Days'
1907 'The Auto Race'
1908 'Sporting Days'
1908 'The Pied Piper', starring De Wolf Hopper
1909 'A Trip to Japan'
1909 "Meet Me When the Lanterns Glow", words and music by Klein.
1910 'The International Cup and the Ballet of Niagara'
1910 "Love is Like a Rainbow", words and music by Klein.
1911 'Around the World'
1912 'Under Many Flags'
1912 "Sweetheart", words and music by Klein.
1912 "Home is Where the Heart Is", words and music by Klein.
1913 'America'
1913 'Hop O' My Thumb', starring De Wolf Hopper.
1914 'The Wars of the World'
1914 "In Siam", words and music by Klein.

1915 was a fateful year for Klein. There was a quarrel with J.J. Shubert, who was producing the shows at the Hippodrome. Shubert had sent for some drums, trumpets, and such, for one of his Winter Garden Theater shows. Klein declined to send them, inasmuch as he needed them for his own orchestra. Heated words followed, Klein offered his resignation, Shubert accepted it. The Hippodrome company was so antagonized, that Shubert had to sell out to Charles Dillingham.

In 1915, Klein returned to London where he obtained the position of conductor of the Gaiety Theatre. On June 1, 1919, he died in his native London.

   Edwin Knopf
Currently no information available.
1935 From Film 'Reckless', starring Jean Harlow; Cary Grant.
"Everything's Been Done Before", Lyric by Harold Adamson and Jack King.
music by Edwin Knopf.

   Ted Koehler
b. July 18, 1894, Washington, D.C., d. Jan 17, 1973, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
Overview
Ted is remembered today as the 'words' half of the Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler songwriting team. They were most active in the 1920's and the 1930's.

Brief Chronology:
----------------
1931 "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"
1931 "Linda"
1932 "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues"
1933 "Stormy Weather", Sung by Lena Horne in her Hollywood debut.
1934 "Let's Fall in Love"

Ted is a Songwriters' Hall of Fame member.

   Eric Korngold
May 29, 1897, Brünn, Moravia, (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire - now the Czech Republic), d. Nov. 29, 1957, North Hollywood, California, USA.(cerebral thrombosis) Age: 60.
né: Erich Wolfgang Korngold

This son of music critic Julius Korngold, first began piano and music theory lessons at just age 5, and two years later composed his first work. In June 1906, he performed his own cantata "Gold" in front of the amazed composer Gustav Mahler, who then recommended him as pupil to his friend, and fellow composer, Alexander von Zemlinsky. Korngold's "Der Schneeman" (the "Snow Man") may have been written when Korngold was just 11 years old.

In 1910, Universal Editions published Korngold's first score, the "Trio op.1". In 1913, famed conductor Felix von Weingartner premiered Korngold's spectacular "Sinfonietta op.5". Between 1913 and 1914, Korngold composed his first opera, "Der Ring des Polykrates op.7", which was premiered (in a double program with "Violanta op.8") on March 28, 1916, under the baton of Bruno Walter. The success of that work convinced him to compose "Die Tote Stadt op.12", which enjoyed triumphal first performances simultaneously in Hamburg and Köln, on December 4, 1920.

In 1929 Korngold met theatre director Max Reinhardt, who, five years later, secured for Korngold a commision from the Warner Brothers studios in Hollywood, to make the musical arrangements of Felix Mendelssohn's music for the film "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935. starring Mickey Rooney, James Cagney and Olivia DeHaviland)

In 1935, he returned to a Europe that was now being transformed by Germany's Nazi party. Unable to work on his newest opera, "Die Kathrin", he returned to Hollywood where he composed the music for Paramount's now forgotten film "Give Us This Night" (1936, starrring the operatic singers Jan Kiepura, and Gladys Swarthout). In Hollywood, he composed his first great score, for the Warner Brothers film 'Captain Blood' (1935, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHaviland). In 1936, his operatic score for the film 'Anthony Adverse' won him his first Academy Award. (The film starred Fredric March, Olivia DeHaviland and Claude Rains). He did briefly return to Europe, hoping to premiere his just finished opera "Die Kathrin", which was cancelled due to Austria's worsening political and social situation. Because of his Jewish ancestry, his stay at this time was quite difficult.

Fortunately, he was able to escape the Nazis gangs in Austria, and returned to Hollywood. There, his score for the film "The Adventures of Robin Hood" earned him his second Academy Award. (The film starred Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHaviland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Rains). The premiere of his opera "Die Kathrin op.28" in Stockholm, Oct. 7, 1939, was a complete failure. Now, except some lieder and choral works, Korngold dedicated his musical efforts exclusively to the movies.

In the mid-1940s, with the end of World War II, Korngold, (photo source unknown) returned to the world of Classical Music, premiering his "String Quartet #3 op.34" and the "Violin Concerto op.35", two works for which he used thematic material extracted from his film scores. In 1946, his Hollywood period ended when he composed the score for the film 'Deception' (1946, starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains), from which he subsequently extracted his "Cello Concerto op.37".

In 1949, Korngold returned to Vienna, where his "Symphonic Serenade op.39" was premiered by Wilhelm Furtwängler. Two years later, disappointed with the results, he returned to the United States; In America, he dedicated his efforts to the composition of his last great symphonic score, the "Symphony in F Sharp op.40". In 1954, he returned, for the last time to Europe for the symphony's premiere. While there, he supervised and arranged Richard Wagner's music for the film 'Magic Fire', a 'biopic' which his old friend film director William Dieterle was shooting. (The film starred Yvonne De Carlo, Rita Gam and Peter Cushing). In 1957, Korngold returned to the United States. He was working on a new opera, when a cerebral thrombosis ended his life.

Only years later do we see how great was Korngold's talent. His music was an awesome contribution to Motion Pictures. His scoring of music for some of Hollywood's greatest films was both powerful and beautiful. It was a privilege for Warner Brothers Pictures to have had the good fortune of counting him as one of the members of its staff. Generally credited with "inventing" the syntax of orchestral film music, Korngold always longed to resume his career as a Classical music composer, but after the World War II ended, he found that the world of serious music had passed him by. He was, sadly, little known at his death in 1957.

A few of his other 43 films for which he created music includes:
    Rose of the Rancho (1936)
    The Green Pastures (1936, he was uncredited)
    The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
    Juarez (1939)
    The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
    The Sea Wolf (1941)
    The Sea Hawk (1940)
    Kings Row (1942)
    The Constant Nymph (1943)
    Of Human Bondage (1946)
    Paloma, La (1974, with the duet Mariettas Lied "Glück das mir verblieb" from his
        own opera "Die tote Stadt", mentioned above. (He was uncredited in the film)
    The Majestic (2001)

   Rudolph G. Kopp
b: March 22, 1887, Vienna, Austria. d: Feb. 20, 1972, Woodland Hills, CA, USA
Currently No Information Available, on this composer who worked in the Hollywood studios (Paramount Films).
He Began writing for the Hollywood film studios in 1931. His first picture was Vice Squad, and his last was Gypsy Colt in 1954. In between, he contributed to another 65 films in which he was uncredited in about 80% of them. Upon his death, he was survived by his wife, Vila Ester, and their daughter.

   Alex J. Kramer
b. May 30, 1903, Montreal, Canada d. Feb. 10, 1998 Westport, CT, USA.
Overview
Alex was a 'Tin Pan Alley' man. He worked as a staff composer for one of the New York City Publishing firms (Bourne). He is well remembered today for his 1944 hit "Candy" (lyric Mack David and Joan Whitney - Kramer's wife), as well as other songs.

Songwriter Alex Kramer was born in Montreal, Canada, son of the late Adolph and Freda Kramer. His career started at just 17 years of age when he took a position as pianist in a Montreal Silent-Films theater. In his younger years he spent a season in Palm Beach where he was connected with the Meyer Davis orchestra, following which he later visited Paris and Cannes, staying many months. He 1920, he returned to N.Y. and began bandleading for some Radio shows, and also worked as an accompanist in vaudeville and nightclubs. He also began coaching young hopeful vocalists in singing techniques. Joan Whitney was one of his students, and after their marriage, she became his songwriting partner. They composed their first big hit for the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra - "High On A Windy Hill", which reached No. 1 on the charts for 1941.

Through the years, over 150 artists have recorded the Kramer/Whitney tunes in styles ranging through country, ballad, Latin, Calypso, and novelty.

In 1948, Alex and his wife formed their own publishing firm. It was at just about the end of the big band era, - and at the end of the song publishing business. Later, Kramer had a long association with with Bourne Music Publishing Co. He led his own orchestra, conducted radio programs, was an accompanist in vaudeville and night clubs.

Among his better known songs are:
"It All Comes Back To Me Now", lyric Hy Zaret and Joan Whitney.
"High On A Windy Hill", lyric by his wife Joan Whitney.
"My Sister And I" (Jimmy Dorsey Orch hit record)
"Far Away Places" (Big Hit for both Bing Crosby and Perry Como)
"It All Comes Back To Me Now" (Gene Krupa Orch. hit)
"Love Somebody" (A hit for Doris Day and also Buddy Clark)
"It's Love, Love, Love" (A Guy Lombardo Orch hit record)
"Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" (Louis Jordan Orch/voc hit)
"So You're The One" (An Eddy Duchin Orch. hit record)
"Candy", lyric Mack David and Joan Whitney (Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford hit)
and more than 125 others, including co-authoring the closing theme to the famous radio show 'Your Hit Parade' - "So Long For A While".

Alec Kramer died at the age of 95 in Westport, Connecticut. He had been a resident of Westport since 1973.

   Henry Krieger
Overview
The team of Krieger and Eyen is somewhat unique in that both men will work on the music and the lyric together.

1982 Scored Broadway show 'Dreamgirls'
1985 Scored Broadway show 'The Tap Dance Kid', lyricist Robert Lorick.

   Mannie Kurtz
Currently no information available.
Co-lyricist (with Al Goodheart) on the Al Hoffman tune "You Meet The Nicest People In Your Dreams". A Fats Waller Hit record.

   Sigmund Krumgold
b: July 1, 1896, d: April 1981
Currently no information available. Krumgold contributed to over 18 Hollywood films including:
      Lady Eve, The (1941)
      One Night in Lisbon (1941)
      Christmas in July (1940)
      Adventure in Diamonds (1940) (uncredited)
      Union Pacific (1939)
      Dangerous to Know (1938 He was uncredited)
      Arizona Raiders, The (1936 USA: 1951 reissue title: Bad Men of Arizona He was uncredited)
      Gilded Lily, The (1935)
      She Loves Me Not (1934)
      Little Miss Marker (1934 aka Girl in Pawn, The UK uncredited))
      Island of Lost Souls (1933) (uncredited)
      Lady's Profession, A (1933) (uncredited)
      Thunder Below (1932) (uncredited)
      Forgotten Commandments (1932) (uncredited)
      Rango (1931)
      Conquering Horde, The (1931)
      Fighting Caravans (1931: aka Blazing Arrows)
      Monte Carlo (1930 he was uncredited)

In addition, he worked as the musical director in perhaps a dozen others including:
      Carnegie Hall (1947) (he was the "music advisor".)
      Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The (1944)
      Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
      Sullivan's Travels (1942)
      Lady Eve, The (1941)
      Monster and the Girl, The (1941: aka 'Avenging Brain',
      The; and aka 'D.O.A.' )
      New York Town (1941)
      Queen of the Mob (1940)
      Adventure in Diamonds (1940)
      Golden Gloves (1939/I)
      Our Neighbors - The Carters (1939)

   John Klenner
Currently no information available. Among his hit Lyrics are:
On July 10, 1928, "My Window of Dreams" was recorded by Adrian Schubert's Salon Orchestra
             (Banner matrix 8084)
On Nov. 7, 1929, "Lonely Troubadour", was recorded by Roy Smeck's Trio (Banner - Matrix 9128)
On June 17, 1930, "Down the River of Golden Dreams", was recorded by Leo Le Sieur and his
             Orchestra recorded (Banner Matrix 9815=3, vocal by Pinky Hunter)
In 1930, "I'm Still Caring", was a song attributed to Rudy Vallee and John Klenner but probably
             written by Klenner alone, with Vallee's name added as a "reward" for singing the tune.
In 1930, "Crying Myself to Sleep" was composed with Pete Wendling's music and John Klenner lyric.
A Top 1931 song, Heartaches, had a John Klenner lyric.
"That's My Desire", with a Klenner lyric and Helmy Kresa music was another 1931 hit song.
Just for interest, some other 1931 hits (NOT by Klenner) were:
       All of Me by Seymour Simons
       "Mood Indigo", by Duke Ellington, lyrics by Albany Bigard, Irving Mills
       "I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do", by Fred E. Ahlert lyrics by Roy Turk
       I Apologize by Al Hoffman.
       "Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day", by Fred E. Ahlert, lyric by Roy Turk
             The tune was A huge Bing Crosby Hit!
       "I Love a Parade", by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Ted Koehler
       "Love Letters in the Sand", by J. Fred Coots, lyrics by Nick and Charles Kenny
       "That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine", -Orvon "Gene" Autry, a Texas-born "singing cowboy" then
             just 24 years old, recorded the tune which sold more than 5 million copies
       Lady of Spain, music by Tolchard Evans, lyrics by Stanley Demerell and Bob Hargreaves
Continuing with Klenner's work:
In 1932, "Round the Bend of the Road", --Paul Robeson recorded (Dec. 15) this Klenner tune.
In 1937, "Smoke Dreams" was composed in collaboraton with Lloyd Shaffer and Ted Steele.
In 1942, "On the Street of Regret", composed with music by Pete Wendling and lyric by John Klenner

   Raoul Kraushaar
b. Paris, France. d. Oct. 13, 2001, USA. age: 93
While still a teen-ager, Parisian born Kraushaar stowed away aboard a ship bound for New York City. There he went on to study at Columbia University. In the 1930s, he relocated to Los Angeles, CA, and got his first music credit on the 1937 film, 'Round-Up Time In Texas', starring Gene Autry. Kraushaar scored many other 'Westerns' including the "Hopalong" Cassidy films, and then went on to scorring musicals like "Cabaret", as well as the 1953 film "Blue Gardenia". Over the years, he also supplied or scored music for such TV shows as 'Bonanza', 'Lassie', 'My Three Sons', 'Father Knows Best', 'Dennis The Menace' and 'The Donna Reed Show'.

Kraushaar, during a 55-year long career with contributions that spanned film, cartoons and television dating back to the 1930s, is credited with composing hundreds of music cues - those bits of background music used to augment the action and emotion in a scene on film.

   Maximilian "Max" Kortlander ]
b. September 1, 1890, Grand Rapids, MI, USA. d. Oct. 11, 1961, Rye, NY, USA. Age: 71 (passed away while in the office of the Imperial Industrial Company, 781 East 136th Street, the Bronx, New York City.)
His mother, a singer, was very active in the musical life of Grand Rapids, MI, USA. She, her three sisters, and an aunt were all piano teachers at various times. When Max was growing up, there were four Mason & Hamlin grand pianos in the Kortlander home. Taught to play by his mother, Max, by age 14, was already playing popular songs and performing at local venues. Upon graduating from Central High School, Kortlander studied for one year at the Oberlin College Conservatory in Ohio, and then attended the American Conservatory in Chicago for advanced piano lessons.

In Chicago, he supported himself by entertaining at upscale supper clubs. On or around 1916, he met a Vice President of the QRS Music Company, a major piano roll manufacturer, and was soon hard at work arranging and playing piano-roll recordings. Over the next ten years, he perhaps arranged and performed more than a thousand different scores for QRS, becaming one of the Stars of piano-roll sales.

During its halcyon days, QRS employed the services of many leading pianists of the day. In it's stable of piano-roll artists were such talents as Victor Arden, Zez Confrey, J. Lawrence Cook, Lee S. Roberts, Thomas "Fats" Waller, and lyricist Pete Wendling. These and other talented staff members turned out 25 to 50 new songs per month, giving pleasure to people around the globe. QRS had begun operations in 1900 as a small, owner-operated enterprise with a few employees. Over time, QRS would buy up about 25 other companies, becaming the largest piano-roll factory in the world, with manufacturing plants in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Fans not only enjoyed Max's recorded melodies, but also his energetic and embellished technique which did much to define the piano-roll sound for the ensuing decade. Occasionally, Kortlander used the pseudonyms of 'Ted Baxter' and 'Jeff Watters'. He used these fictitious names when he accompanied himself in a mechanically contrived, four-hand arrangement, which needed to list a second performer in the 'duet'. He also used these names when he produced songs that some folks considered objectionable because they were written by, or associated with, African Americans.

Circa 1930, the Piano Roll business faded away. The three main causes for it's demise were the invention of Radio braadcasting (ca 1921), Movies, especially 'Talking Films' after ca. 1927, and increasing popularity of the electrically operated Phonograph (no more hand cranking), with their electrically recorded shellac discs. Most all Piano Roll companies were forced to cease production. With the Great 1929 Economic Depression, few people had any discretionary income for purchasing pianos or music rolls, and this was the last, and fatal, blow to the player-piano business.

The QRS company likewise felt the impact of the failing economy. In 1927, the QRS Music Company had reported sales of 10 million rolls, its greatest output ever. But, with the great 1929 depression, QRS began sliding towards bankruptcy. In 1931, Kortlander, seeking to save the company, mortgaged his home and purchased the firm, He then changed the name to Imperial Industrial Corporation, - because he felt that name would allow him to enter some other business if the Piano Roll business failed. Happily, by also making paper rolls for automatic office equipment, the company was able to ride out the long depression.

Kortlander's company had some small success during WWII, selling patriotic songs, but the market for piano rolls again fell off with the advent of TV. Somewhow, Max was able to reverse this downward spiral, and restore the firm's profitability. His success was also attributable to his arranger of many years, J. Lawrence Cook, one of America's great Black pianists, and the creator of more piano rolls than any other artist.

In the 1950s, Kortlander helped fund the development of a spinet style player piano. In 1957, the instrument, playable either manually or automatically, was debuted in New York City under the name of the Hardman Duo Piano. Since then, many sophisticated electronic versions of the player piano have appeared. One company - 'Classic Player Piano' of Seneca, Pennsylvania - still manufactures an old-fashioned, paper-roll-playing model under the famous brand name of Story & Clark.

In 1961, Max died while working in the company's office in the Bronx borough of New York City. His wife inherited the company and hired Max's brother Herman to run the business. Five years later, she sold the company which was then moved to the city of Buffalo, NY, where it still remains, successfully selling about 300,000 rolls every year.

Herman Kortlander, who had returned to his home in Grand Rapids, MI, died in July of 1987.

Max Kortlander, while turning out large numbers of piano rolls, was also actively composing songs. ASCAP listings show that between 1917 and 1940 he composed about sixty-five melodies, including "Bebe-D" (dedicated to Bebe Daniels, a musical comedy and Hollywood film star).

Among his other song compositions are:
     "Always In My Dreams"
     "Arithmetic Blues"
     "Felix The Cat"
     "If You Love Me Say So"
     "I'm The One Who Loves You"
     "Lullaby Lady From Lullaby Lane"
     "Moonlight Down In Lovers Lane"
     "Ragtime Sailor Man"
     "Some Day You'll Know"
     "Something to Live For"
     "What Would You Say"
     "Whatever You Say"
     "Tell Me" (This 1919 fox trot sold for $100,000, the highest lump sum paid for any popular song up to that time.)

A reader has kindly sent the following interesting article, which was published in TIME magazine, dated 15th February 1943.
Roll On, Imperial
One of the most magniloquent named organizations on earth. Imperial Industrial Corp., was rolling steadily forward last week. Imperial Industrial Corp. belches no great plume of smoke over the industrial landscape; it is, simply, all that is left of the U.S. pianola business. But Imperial is a complete monopoly and it is enjoying a small boom, largely produced by A.F. of M. (American Federation of Musicians --ed) Boss James Caesar Petrillo's ban on phonograph recording (Time, June 22).

Imperial Industrial Corp., under its portly, bespectacled President Max Kortlander, occupies the third floor of a rambling brick factory in the upper fringes of the Bronx. It seldom advertises, does much of its retailing through big concerns like Sears, Roebuck and Manhattan's R. H. Macy & Co. Its customers are mostly U.S. farm families. To this small but steady market, Imperial sells approximately half a million pianola rolls a year. Biggest current sellers: "When the Lights Go on Again", "Moonlight Becomes You", "The Beer Barrel Polka", "Let Me Call You Sweetheart", "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life", and "The Star-Spangled Banner".

President Kortlander has about 25 employes [sic]. One is J. Lawrence Cook a dignified, 43 year-old Negro inherited from the company's once-famed predecessor, the Q.R.S.* Music Roll Company. J. Lawrence Cook is a nearly indispensable man. There hangs a tale and a technique.

In the heyday of 1923, when 197,252 pianolas (more than 50% of all the pianos sold in the U.S.) were sold in a single year, the pianola industry hired the greatest pianists, such as Paderewski, to record their performances on perforated paper. It also hired such early jazzers as J. Lawrence Cook and Harlem\x{2019}s historic James P. Johnson. But as the pianola gave ground to the phonograph, the pianola industry could no longer afford to pay for personal recordings.

Most of the pianola artists moved on to greener pastures. But J. Lawrence Cook stayed. He continued to make his own rolls, also produced rolls that accurately ghosted the performances of other jazz improvisers. He did this by listening to their phonograph records, carefully transcribing what he heard into a musical score, then playing his score on Imperial's perforating machine. Today Imperial issues pianola rolls by such jazz artists as Fats Waller, Ted Baxter and Pete Mendoza. All are ghosted by J. Lawrence Cook.

Cook was born in Athens, Tenn., where the Negro J. L. Cook High School bears the name of his father, a Presbyterian minister. As a boy he learned the clarinet and piano. He never made the big time as a jazz pianist. But was a good "paper man" (i.e., a musician who can read, write and arrange music) he got a job with a Harlem music publisher, later with Q.R.S. in The Bronx. He has made over 20,000 arrangements for pianola rolls.

Today, Cook spends his days with Imperial, his evenings earning a little extra cash as a clerk in the post office near Grand Central Station. His 19-year-old son, Jean Lawrence, studies medicine at Columbia University, his daughter, Annizella, takes a voice course at the Julliard School of Music.

Cook has found time to complete a course in short story writing, also contributes a monthly column to the International Musician (official organ of the American Federation of Musicians) on jazz piano technique.

* The Original meaning of the letters lost, Q.R.S. executives explained that they meant "Quality, Real Service."
TIME, February 15, 1943

   Joseph Kosma
b. Oct. 12, 1905, Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary), d. August 7, 1969, La Roche-Guyon, France.
né: Jozsef Kozma
Kosma was already playing and writing music while still a child in Hungary. As a young man, he effected his first re-location, moving to Berlin, Germany because he found the political climate in Budapest to be oppressive. He was both a Jew, and a "left winger". In Berlin, Kosma found a friend of a friend of composer Berthold Brecht's wife, and he soon became a member of Bertholt Brecht's traveling theater troupe (Brecht, b. Feb. 10, 1898, Augsburg, Germany, d. Aug. 14, 1956, East Germany) another Jew, was an avowed Marxist).
At this time, Nazism was on the rise in Berlin, and in time both Brecht and Kosma left, Brecht first to Denmark, and Kosma to Paris. In Paris, Kosma teamed with librettist/lyricist Jacques Prévert, and they went on to create around 80 songs. It was Pre´vert who introduced Kosma to the great French film director, Jean Renoir. In 1936, Kosma wrote the score for Une Partie de Campagne. (The film was not released until after World War II ended.) Another Renoir directed film that Kosma scored was the magnificent "Grand Illusion", starring Jean Gabin, and Erich Von Stroheim. That film was shown in the U.S.A. with the original French language sound track. It has since been declared to be one of the greatest films ever made. After it won a prize at the 1937 Venice Film Festival, the Nazis declared the film "Cinematographic Enemy Number One." It is a very powerful film, timeless, and just as fascinating today as when it was first released. Just as Prévert had introduced Kosma to Renoir, he now introduced Kosma to Marcel Carné, for whom Kosma worked (while hiding in the South of France because his Jewish faith) all through the German Occupation of France. While in hiding, Kosma ended up writing uncredited scores for 'Les Visiteurs du soir' (1942), and 'Les Enfants du paradis' (1945. Kosma ended up with his name in the credits for 'Enfants', because the fall of the Nazis was imminent as the film was nearing completion). The Kosma/Carné/Prévert team would continue to produce great works in the French film studios for many years after the close of WW II.

There is an interesting sidelight on the next year, 1946. Prévert and Kosma convinced Carné to turn an opera they had written, "Le Rendezvous", into a film, which would be titled 'Les Portes de la Nuit'. Even though it was the the most costly film to date in the French film industry, it failed at the box office. However, the film featured one of Kosma's songs originally entitled "Feuilles Mortes". That tune, under the English title of "Autumn Leaves", has since been covered by virtually every Jazz musician in the world.

As mentioned, Kosma would score many more films in the post-WW II years, most notably the score for the film, 'Le Sang des Bêtes' (1949). Near the end of his life, he began to write more for the "legitimate" stage, and composd such operas as "Les Hussards" and "Les Canuts", while also continuing to score for films right up to he demise. As often happens, the Kosma/Carné/Prévert team gradually drifted apart, and a sad remark in Kosma's journals noted that his two old friends did not come to one of his opera premieres. However, Kosma continued to work for Renoir until the very end, composing the music for later works.