Fred Steiner

Composer

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his four-hour interview, Fred Steiner (1923-2011) talks about breaking into the business as an arranger/orchestrator in network radio in the 1940s and details some of the first radio scores he wrote for legendary producer-director Norman Corwin. He discusses his work as composer for the radio series This Is Your F.B.I., his move to Los Angeles, and his compositions for the anthology series Playhouse 90. Steiner speaks on composing the jazzy theme for Perry Mason and describes several of the episode scores he wrote for landmark series The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. Steiner reminisces about CBS West Coast music director Lud Gluskin, and explains his own studies in musicology -- including receiving a Ph.D. from USC. B-roll consists of several photos from Steiner's career conducting for radio's This Is Your F.B.I. and a shot of the scoring stage at 20th Century Fox. Karen Herman conducted the interview on June 25, 2003 in Santa Fe, NM.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"(Outstanding scores have) music that you can listen to over and over again and say, 'gee, I think that was a good job…' I was listening to the re-runs of 'Gunsmoke' and some of the old scores I haven't heard for 50 years. And I'm kind of impressed by that - that was music that sounded different from most of the stuff that you were hearing on TV in those days for western films. If I like listening to it again, then maybe it had something."

People Talking About ...

Fred Steiner

Highlights

Fred Steiner on scoring various made-for-television movies

03:47

Fred Steiner on then-current projects

02:45

Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On his early life and influences; on his experience of World War II, composing music for propaganda; on learning to score by watching his father score cartoons

On his early jobs in radio working for Van Cleave, who became a mentor; on composition teacher Norman Lockwood, who was a mentor to him

On the challenges on composing for radio; on some of the radio shows he scored, including "Columbia Presents Corwin" with Norman Corwin; on his earliest experiences with television

Chapter 2

On composing for the radio show "Cathy and Elliott Lewis On Stage"; on composing and arraigning for early television, and how it was different from doing the same for radio; on the craft and composing and arranging for television, and tailoring the music to fit the star

On how he got work in the early days of television; on the process of composing for a pilot; on the Hollywood Blacklist

On how he started composing for feature films, and on favorites of his that he's worked on; on what makes for an outstanding score; on composing for My Favorite Husband

Chapter 3

On the sound stages he's recorded on; on the logistics of a recording session for a television score; on following union regulations for musicians in recording sessions

On composing for Playhouse 90; on playing the music live for Playhouse 90 instead of recording it in advance; on collaborating with Playhouse 90 producer Martin Manulis and director John Frankenheimer

On composing for the Playhouse 90 episodes "The Comedian" and "A Sound of Different Drummers"; on the process of composing a score of a Playhouse 90 episode; on what he learned composing for Playhouse 90

Chapter 4

On Lud Gluskin; on getting around the Petrillo ban on live music

On composing for Gunsmoke; on composing for Navy Log; on composing the theme song for Perry Mason

Chapter 5

On moving to Mexico to reconnect with his family; on music he did while living in Mexico; on composing for Gerald McBoing Boing

On composing for The Bullwinkle Show for Jay Ward; on composing for various animated series

On composing for Tiny Toons in the style of the old Warner Brothers cartoons; on composing for The Twilight Zone

Chapter 6

On composing for The Twilight Zone and on working for Rod Serling and producer Buck Houghton; on composing for specific episodes of The Twilight Zone

On composing for Star Trek; on composing for the Star Trek episode "The Corbomite Maneuver"; on composing for the Star Trek episodes "Who Mourns for Adonais?" and "Charlie X"; on composing for the Star Trek episode "Mudd's Women"

On composing for the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"; on composing for the Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror"; on composing for the Star Trek episode "Mirror Mirror"

Chapter 7

On scoring specific episodes of Star Trek; on scoring the theme of Beany and Cecil; on scoring several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show

On scoring various made-for-television movies; on scoring several episodes of Bonanza; on scoring O'Hara, U.S. Treasury

On scoring several episodes of Hec Ramsey; on scoring several episodes of Hawaii Five-O; on his studies in musicology

Chapter 8

On writing his dissertation on Alfred Newman, and his study of musicology; on his favorite film scores; on how the business has changed regarding scoring

On scoring episodes of Dynasty; on working on the feature film "The Color Purple" with Quincy Jones; on working on Death of a Salesman

On working on the updated Twilight Zone and Amazing Stories; on composing for Star Trek: The Next Generation; on some of his favorite feature film scores

Chapter 9

On then-current projects; on the importance of television scores; on advice to an aspiring television composer

On b-roll pictures from his career- conducting for the radio show "This Is Your FBI"; conducting for radio; conducing London Philharmonic; conducting score for "King Kong"; conducing London Philharmonic; conducting score for "King Kong"; screening a take; conducting using a widescreen; Lud Gluskin; at home with his wife; sheet music by Alfred Newman;

Shows

Amazing Stories

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Fred Steiner on working on the updated Twilight Zone and Amazing Stories