Category Archives: Composers

Unsung Music Man Walter Scharf

Walter Scharf is one of the great, unsung composers & arrangers in film history. Anyone who finds themselves humming Pure Imagination from the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) is likely to recall, along with the melody itself, … Continue reading

Posted in Composers, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“The aroma of hypocrisy”: The Development of “Molasses to Rum” in 1776.

As a musical theatre scholar, it isn’t often that my search for archival materials takes me outside of New York City. As a result, it was a pleasure to be able to visit the American Heritage Center in Laramie, Wyoming. … Continue reading

Posted in African American history, Composers, music, Musicals, Political history, Slavery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Traveling with Cole Porter

Actress and photographer Jean Howard was a great favorite of Cole Porter, the urbane composer and songwriter known for scoring such successful productions as Kiss Me Kate (1948) and High Society (1956). His numerous hit songs include Begin the Beguine, … Continue reading

Posted in Composers, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, Photographic collections, popular culture, Uncategorized, women's history | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Saying Goodbye to AHC Friend Hugh Downs

Radio and television broadcaster, announcer, television host, news anchor, TV producer, author, game show host, music composer, and AHC friend Hugh Downs died at his home in Scottsdale on July 1, 2020. He was 99. Hugh was one of the … Continue reading

Posted in announcements, Collection donor, Composers, Current events, found in the archive, Hollywood history, Journalism, Obituaries, radio history, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

New Finding Aids: March 2020

We’re still busy as ever archiving and processing collections. Here’s another round of finding aides we’ve published so you can see what’s been added to our collections. As a reminder, Finding Aids act as a table of contents for our … Continue reading

Posted in Authors and literature, Composers, Economic Geology, energy resources, Finding Aids, Geology, Hollywood history, International relations, mining history, motion picture history, newly processed collections, Politics, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming, University of Wyoming history, women's history, Wyoming, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Finding Aids: June 2019

We’re back for round three of Finding Aids updates — if you couldn’t tell, we’ve been busy processing collections! As a reminder, Finding Aids act as a table of contents for our collections. These aids help you find information about … Continue reading

Posted in Composers, energy resources, Finding Aids, motion picture history, Natural resources, newly processed collections, popular culture, radio history, Science, television history, University of Wyoming, University of Wyoming history, Western history, women's history, Wyoming, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Friendship Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick and Gerald Fried

Gerald Fried, a Julliard trained composer for television and film and a still active nonagenarian, began performing music in his Bronx neighborhood during the 1940s. There he met Stanley Kubrick, who would go on to become a celebrated film director, … Continue reading

Posted in Composers, found in the archive, motion picture history, music, popular culture, science fiction, Stanley Kubrick, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Carl Stalling, Music Animator

A chance meeting in the early 1920s at a Missouri movie theater led to some of the most beloved cartoons ever created. Carl Stalling was improvising on the organ while accompanying a silent film. A young Walt Disney was in … Continue reading

Posted in cartoons, Composers, motion picture history, music, popular culture, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Post and Carpenter – The Television Sound

The history of television in the 1980s cannot be told without discussing the music of Mike Post and Pete Carpenter. The team of Post and Carpenter first rose to fame in the 1970s with the music for The Rockford Files, … Continue reading

Posted in Composers, music | Leave a comment

Irwin Kostal: Mastermind of Many 20th Century Musicals

The AHC has recently processed the papers of Irwin Kostal, an American composer, orchestrator and arranger in the 20th century. Kostal’s most well-known projects include work on The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Sail Away  and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. … Continue reading

Posted in Composers, newly processed collections, popular culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment