Max Steiner

Max Steiner, the pioneering film composer who wrote the music for "King Kong" and "Gone With the Wind," was once complimented as the man who invented modern movie music. "Nonsense," he replied. "The idea originated with Richard Wagner. Listen to the incidental scoring behind the recitatives in his operas. If Wagner had lived in this century, he would have been the No. 1 film composer." That last point is debatable. (Try to imagine Wagner working for Harvey Weinstein.) But Wagner's influence on film-music history certainly has been enormous, "probably more than any other single composer," says Roger Hickman, professor of music at California State University Long Beach and author of "Reel Music: Exploring 100 Years of Film Music."

Though Alex North ushered in a completely new sound in American film music, he wasn't a Young Turk when he arrived in Hollywood 60 years ago to pen the groundbreaking jazz-influenced score for "A Streetcar Named Desire. " He was nearly 40 at the time, classically trained at both the Curtis School in Philadelphia and Juilliard in New York. In the mid-1930s, the Pennsylvania native went to Moscow, where he studied for two years at the Moscow Conservatory. His Moscow connections, plus the fact that his brother was a writer for a left-wing publication, forced North and his family to move to France in the late 1950s for a few years to escape the blacklist.

Louise Klos Steiner Elian, 96, a harpist whose music was heard on the original scores of such classic movies as "Gone With the Wind" and "Casablanca," died July 7 in West Palm Beach, Fla. The cause of death was not reported. Elian was a leading harpist during Hollywood's golden era of the 1930s and '40s. She was married for 10 years to Max Steiner, a pioneer of original film music, who scored "Casablanca," "Gone With the Wind," "The Informer," "Now, Voyager" and other memorable films.

Max Steiner, the pioneering film composer who wrote the music for "King Kong" and "Gone With the Wind," was once complimented as the man who invented modern movie music. "Nonsense," he replied. "The idea originated with Richard Wagner. Listen to the incidental scoring behind the recitatives in his operas. If Wagner had lived in this century, he would have been the No. 1 film composer." That last point is debatable. (Try to imagine Wagner working for Harvey Weinstein.) But Wagner's influence on film-music history certainly has been enormous, "probably more than any other single composer," says Roger Hickman, professor of music at California State University Long Beach and author of "Reel Music: Exploring 100 Years of Film Music."

A pivotal scene in the 1933 classic "King Kong" has Fay Wray about to be sacrificed to the mysterious, still-unseen creature, as hundreds of natives watch. The music is frenzied, primitive-sounding and percussion-filled, reaching a fever pitch as the screaming blond is tied to a stone altar to await the arrival of the giant ape.

Though Alex North ushered in a completely new sound in American film music, he wasn't a Young Turk when he arrived in Hollywood 60 years ago to pen the groundbreaking jazz-influenced score for "A Streetcar Named Desire. " He was nearly 40 at the time, classically trained at both the Curtis School in Philadelphia and Juilliard in New York. In the mid-1930s, the Pennsylvania native went to Moscow, where he studied for two years at the Moscow Conservatory. His Moscow connections, plus the fact that his brother was a writer for a left-wing publication, forced North and his family to move to France in the late 1950s for a few years to escape the blacklist.

Actor Troy Donahue, the handsome heartthrob of teen films in the late 1950s and early '60s, died Sunday at a Santa Monica hospital of a heart attack he suffered last week. He was 65. The tall, blond star of such films as "Rome Adventure" and "A Summer Place" was admitted to St. John's Hospital and Health Center on Thursday after having a heart attack in his Santa Monica home shortly after returning from the gym.

In an exercise sure to start arguments among music lovers, National Public Radio has created its list of the 100 most important American musical works of the century. The list started with 300 songs suggested by a group of producers, artists and experts familiar to NPR. In mid-October, NPR allowed the public to vote on the selection. More than 13,000 listeners cast their votes online and through the mail. A panel of 15 musicians considered the same 300 songs.

8 p.m. Music Pacific Symphony will offer a salute to Hollywood with a program of movie music at the Verizon Wireless in Irvine. Pianist Wendy Chen will play the concerto composed by Miklos Rozsa for Alfred Hitchcock's 1943 film "Spellbound." Bobbie Page will sing songs by Henry Mancini and others. Guest conductor Richard Kaufman will lead the orchestra in music by Bernard Herrmann, Erich Korngold, Max Steiner, John Williams and others. The program will end with a fireworks display. *$7.50-$60.

Louise Klos Steiner Elian, 96, a harpist whose music was heard on the original scores of such classic movies as "Gone With the Wind" and "Casablanca," died July 7 in West Palm Beach, Fla. The cause of death was not reported. Elian was a leading harpist during Hollywood's golden era of the 1930s and '40s. She was married for 10 years to Max Steiner, a pioneer of original film music, who scored "Casablanca," "Gone With the Wind," "The Informer," "Now, Voyager" and other memorable films.

A pivotal scene in the 1933 classic "King Kong" has Fay Wray about to be sacrificed to the mysterious, still-unseen creature, as hundreds of natives watch. The music is frenzied, primitive-sounding and percussion-filled, reaching a fever pitch as the screaming blond is tied to a stone altar to await the arrival of the giant ape.

A 23-year-old male nurse suffering from AIDS killed himself by driving deliberately into an oncoming train, police said Sunday. Max Steiner, from Rederschen, Switzerland, smashed into the passenger train on a level crossing near the southern Austrian village of Mittlern on Saturday night. His car was dragged 300 yards.

CHARLIE HADEN "Haunted Heart" Verve * * * Haden's notes tell us that this CD was conceived "as if it were a film telling a story." This may be very clear in Haden's mind, but to some listeners the narrative and continuity will be puzzling.