Category Archives: Film Music

Tuppence a Tune: A Sherman Brothers Retrospective

Posted on July 15, 2024 by ahcadmin

Today, the American Heritage Center highlights Richard and Robert Sherman, in honor of Richard M. Sherman, who passed away earlier this year at age 95. The Center is honored to hold the papers of the brothers documenting a portion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography and profiles, Composers, Film History, Film Music, Hollywood history, Songwriters, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Man Behind the Music: Carl Stalling and His Contributions to Disney Studio

Posted on October 16, 2023 by ahcadmin

In commemorating the 100th anniversary of Disney Brothers Studio, now known as the Walt Disney Company, it’s a good time to reflect on the remarkable individuals who have left an indelible mark on its history. Disney is a studio that … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation history, Biography and profiles, Composers, Entertainment history, Film Music, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Unsung Music Man Walter Scharf

Posted on February 20, 2023 by ahcadmin

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, Film Music, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carl Stalling, Music Animator

Posted on January 17, 2018 by ahcadmin

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, Film Music, motion picture history, music, Pop Culture, popular culture, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Irwin Kostal: Mastermind of Many 20th Century Musicals

Posted on January 8, 2014 by ahcadmin

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 Broadway, Composers, Film Music, music, Musicals, newly processed collections, popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Skeletons, Silly Symphonies, and Stalling: A Musical Journey

Posted on October 30, 2013 by ahcadmin

A stormy night in fall with a full moon… and the skeletons in the cemetery come to life! Do you remember the black and white Disney Cartoon Classic, “The Skeleton Dance”?  This 1929 short, part of Disney’s Silly Symphony series … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Animation history, cartoons, Disney, Film Music, found in the archive, music | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment