Charles Previn

Charles Previn (January 11, 1888 – September 21, 1973) was an American film composer who was active at

• Musician and conductor of vaudeville and musical comedy
• Conductor of the
  St. Louis Municipal Opera
• Conductor of NBC's Camel Pleasure Hour in 1930, featuring cornetist Bix Beiderbecke
• Conductor on the NBC radio series Silken Strings from 1934 through 1936
• 1936–1944 — Musical director, arranger, composer and conductor at
  Universal. While there, Previn accumulated over 225 films to his credit, including most of Deanna Durbin
  's films.
• 1944 — Previn began working at other studios
• 1945–1947 — Previn succeeded Ernö Rapée as music director/conductor of the Radio City Music Hall Symphony
• 1947 — Previn returned to Hollywood and worked at
  MGM
• 1947 —
  Ithaca Conservatory of Music
  awarded Previn an honorary doctorate
• 1953 — Previn retired

While at Universal, Previn composed uncredited stock music for several of the studio's releases.

Partial filmography

• The White Monkey (1925)
• Prescription for Romance (1937)
• The Missing Guest (1938)
• The Witness Vanishes (1939)
• Destry Rides Again (1939; musical director)
• Inside Information (1939)
• Missing Evidence (1939)
• Ex-Champ (1939)
• Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
• Who Done It? (1942)
• Arabian Nights (1942)
• He's My Guy (1943)

Awards

Oscar Award

• Best Score (1937) — One Hundred Men and a Girl - Musical Director

Academy Award nominations

• Best Score (1938) — Mad About Music (w. Frank Skinner)
• Best Score (1939) — First Love
• Best Score (1940) — Spring Parade
• Scoring of a Musical Picture (1941) — Buck Privates
• Scoring of a Musical Picture (1942) —
  It Started With Eve (w. Hans J. Salter
  )
• Scoring of a Musical Picture (1944) — Song of the Open Road

Family

Parents

• Father: Rabbi Morris Previn (December 1860, Russia – 16 August 1929, Brooklyn)
• Mother: Henrietta Previn (September 1859,
  New York, NY
  )

Morris and Henrietta were married in about 1880. Morris Previn was a rabbi at Ascha-Shorem on 78 Ten Eyck Street in Brooklyn.

Siblings

• Rosie (December 1882, Germany – May 1948, New York, NY)

MARRIED NAMES

Rose Meyer (married Dr. Joseph H. Meyer)

• Leo Previn (3 August 1884,
  Graudenz
  , Germany – February 1954, New York, NY)
• Arthur Gerald Previn (14 February 1886, Germany – July 1969, Falls Church, Virginia)
• Bess (born October 1892, New York City – April 30, 1983, New York City)

MARRIED NAMES

Bess Landau (married Saul Albert Landau 19 November 1914

Manhattan, NY

)

Bess Nathanson

Bess Kurtzman

• Jules Previn (23 July 1894, Connecticut – January 1976, Virginia)
• William Oliver Previn (19 June 1896, New York City – 16 August 1978, Washington, D.C.)
• Stanley S. Previn (3 August 1899 – November 1973, Los Angeles)

References

General references

• Biography Index, A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines, Volume 1: January 1946 – July 1949, H. W. Wilson Company, New York (1949)
• Biography Index, A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines, Volume 10: September 1973 – August 1976, H. W. Wilson Company, New York (1977)
• Who Was Who on Screen, Third edition, by Evelyn Mack Truitt,
  R.R. Bowker
  , New York (1983)
• The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Third edition, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, New York (1966)
• ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Fourth edition, compiled for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, by Jaques Cattell Press, R.R. Bowker, New York (1980)
• Who's Who in Hollywood, the largest cast of international film personalities ever assembled, two volumes, by David Ragan, New York: Facts on File, New York (1992)

Inline citations

External links

• Charles Previn at
  IMDb