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George Stoll

Known For
Sound

Known Credits
1

Gender
Male

Birthday
May 7, 1905 (121 years old)

Place of Birth
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

George Stoll

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georgie Stoll (7 May 1905 in Minneapolis, MN – 18 January 1985 in Monterey, CA) was a musical director, conductor, composer and jazz violinist, associated with the Golden Age of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals and performers from the 1940s to 1960s. Born George Martin Stoll, he was also later credited as George E. Stoll (sometimes without the middle initial).

Stoll made his musical debut as a boy violin prodigy, gaining nationwide fame. He toured North America as a jazz violinist on the Fanchon and Marco Vaudeville circuit and was part of the Jazzmania Quintet, appearing with Edythe Flynn in an early 1927 sound short. In San Diego, he became an orchestra and trio leader (his Rhythm Aces) and started to feature with Jack Oakie on radio programs, such as Camel Cigarette and NBC's Shell Oil Program. In 1934, Bing Crosby selected Stoll as his musical director for the second series of the CBS Woodbury radio programs Bing Crosby Entertains. For Decca, Georgie Stoll and His Orchestra accompanied Crosby and Louis Armstrong in the successful 1936 recordings of Pennies from Heaven. Stoll and his orchestra appeared on screen the same year in MGM's Swing Banditry.

In 1937, he joined the MGM music department and was the musical director (frequently conductor too) for titles such as Honolulu, Ice Follies of 1939 and the Rooney-Garland hit Babes in Arms. He conducted the stage band which toured with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney upon the release of The Wizard of Oz. He was given a single "Ruby Slipper" by Judy Garland upon completion of the Wizard of Oz (where he orchestrated the tornado and Wicked Witch's Castle escape scenes with George Bassman). At the studio Stoll worked frequently with the director Edward Buzzell and producers Arthur Freed, Roger Edens and Joe Pasternak. He was also a favorite pinochle-playing buddy of studio head Louis B. Mayer.

Stoll kept his connection with the jazz world and visited clubs looking for rising talent. He recruited one of the first black arrangers at MGM, Calvin Jackson with whom he worked on the original music for his 1945 Oscar-winning score for the Kelly-Sinatra Anchors Aweigh. Stoll also encouraged the teenaged André Previn and used him to write many arrangements.

In 1943, he conducted Garland through the first two of her Decca original cast albums from her popular movies, such as Girl Crazy and Meet Me in St. Louis, which included the hit single The Trolley Song (#3 on Billboard's Best Selling charts). His other recordings were quite eclectic: spanning the popular (often with harmonica virtuosoes Leo Diamond or Larry Adler), easy listening orchestral (e.g. MGM's Hollywood Melodies album) to the postwar American sessions of the tenor Lauritz Melchior.

His career got a final innings boost when Pasternak hired him and his old colleague George Sidney to work with Elvis Presley on some of his later and better pictures (e.g. Viva Las Vegas and Spinout). After 9 Oscar nominations (last in 1962 for Billy Rose's Jumbo), Stoll retired upon completing the original music for the Ann-Margret vehicle Made in Paris.

In October 2009, Stoll's Amati violin was sold by Tarisio Auctions for $620,000, the current world record for a Nicolo Amati sold at auction.

Known For

Sound

1966Spinout...Original Music Composer
1966Made in Paris...Original Music Composer
1965The Man from Button Willow...Music
1965Girl Happy...Original Music Composer
1964Viva Las Vegas...Original Music Composer
1963A Ticklish Affair...Original Music Composer
1963The Courtship of Eddie's Father...Original Music Composer
1963The Courtship of Eddie's Father...Conductor
1962Billy Rose's Jumbo...Conductor
1962Billy Rose's Jumbo...Music Supervisor
1962The Horizontal Lieutenant...Original Music Composer
1960Where the Boys Are...Original Music Composer
1959For the First Time...Original Music Composer
1957Ten Thousand Bedrooms...Music Supervisor
1956The Opposite Sex...Original Music Composer
1956The Opposite Sex...Music Supervisor
1956The Opposite Sex...Songs
1955Love Me or Leave Me...Music Supervisor
1955Hit the Deck...Original Music Composer
1954Athena...Original Music Composer
1954The Student Prince...Original Music Composer
1954Flame and the Flesh...Original Music Composer
1954Rose Marie...Songs
1953Easy to Love...Music Director
1953Dangerous When Wet...Music Director
1953I Love Melvin...Music Director
1952Glory Alley...Music Director
1952Skirts Ahoy!...Original Music Composer
1952Skirts Ahoy!...Music Director
1951Father's Little Dividend...Conductor
1950Watch the Birdie...Music
1950Two Weeks with Love...Music Director
1950Duchess of Idaho...Music Director
1949In the Good Old Summertime...Original Music Composer
1949Neptune's Daughter...Original Music Composer
1948The Kissing Bandit...Music Director
1948A Date with Judy...Music Director
1948On an Island with You...Original Music Composer
1946Two Sisters from Boston...Original Music Composer
1945Anchors Aweigh...Music Director
1945Thrill of a Romance...Music Director
1945Thrill of a Romance...Music
1945Thrill of a Romance...Songs
1944Meet Me in St. Louis...Music Director
1943Swing Fever...Music Director
1943Swing Fever...Original Music Composer
1943I Dood It...Music
1943Presenting Lily Mars...Original Music Composer
1943Cabin in the Sky...Original Music Composer
1942Panama Hattie...Music Director
1942Ship Ahoy...Original Music Composer
1941Lady Be Good...Music Director
1941The Big Store...Music
1941Ziegfeld Girl...Music Director
1941Road Show...Original Music Composer
1940Go West...Original Music Composer
1940Little Nellie Kelly...Music Director
1940Andy Hardy Meets Debutante...Conductor
1939Babes in Arms...Original Music Composer
1939Babes in Arms...Music Director
1939The Ice Follies of 1939...Music Director
1937On Such a Night...Music Director
1937Outcast...Music Director
1936Go West Young Man...Original Music Composer

Crew

1944Meet Me in St. Louis...Additional Music
1941Ziegfeld Girl...Additional Music

Acting

1936Swing Banditryas Orchestra Leader