Rudy Schrager

Rudy Schrager
Rudy Schrager in 1963
Born
Rudolph Noachim Schrager

(1900-08-28)August 28, 1900
Czernowitz, Bukovina, Austria-Hungary
DiedAugust 24, 1983(1983-08-24) (aged 82)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupationscomposer, conductor, pianist, organist
Spouse(s)Glendora Glendon (divorced)
Dorothy Morrison (divorced)
Louise Barnes (divorced)
ChildrenSusan Schrager (known as Mother Sudha Puri)

Rudolph "Rudy" Noachim Schrager (28 August 1900 – 24 August 1983) was an Austro-Hungarian-born American composer, conductor, pianist, and organist. A native of Czernowitz, Bukovina, he immigrated to the United States with his parents when he was approximately 12 years old and spent his teenage years living in The Bronx. He was educated at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. He lived most of his life in L. A. and worked as a composer and conductor for radio, television, and film. His first film score was for the 1936 screwball comedy My Man Godfrey (1936) which he co-composed with Charles Previn. He was a prolific film composer during the 1940s into the year 1950; crafting works both alone and with others for most of the studios in Hollywood.

After 1950 Shrager predominantly worked in television after being appointed music director of Lux Video Theatre which he led for much of the 1950s. He had previously worked on the radio program that series was adapted from, Lux Radio Theatre, from 1936 until the creation of the TV series. He was also known for his work as the pianist, organist, and composer for the radio drama Box 13 (1948–1949). In his later career he worked as a staff composer for Four Star Television. His other TV work included contributions to many American Western shows. He won a Western Heritage Award in 1965 for his work as a composer for the television series Rawhide.

Early life and education

The son of Morris Schrager and Rose A. Schrager (nee Brambier),[1][2] Rudy Schrager was born on 28 August 1900[3][1] in Czernowitz, Bukovina, Austria-Hungary (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine).[4] He immigrated with his family to the United States in 1912 where they settled in The Bronx at a home on Beck St.[5][1] He attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan,[1] and became a naturalized American citizen.[2]

Schrager earned Bachelor of Music degrees in organ performance and music theory from the University of Southern California in 1926.[6] After graduating he worked as the in-house organist at the Raymond Theatre in Pasadena, California in 1926; playing the accompaniments to silent films and entertaining audiences with regular organ recitals.[7][8] In 1927 he was a conductor for vaudeville shows at the Ritz Theatre in Los Angeles.[9] In the early 1930s he pursued further music studies in Germany with Franz Schreker at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin.[10]

Later life and career

In 1932 Schrager was the conductor for Harold Hecht's musical revue Hullabaloo which was staged at the Pasadena Community Playhouse under the direction of Paul Gerard Smith.[11]

Schrager co-wrote his first film score with Charles Previn; creating the music for the Universal Pictures screwball comedy film My Man Godfrey (1936).[12] This was followed by three scores crafted for films released by 20th Century Fox in 1939: Stanley and Livingstone,[13] Swanee River,[14] and Hollywood Cavalcade.[14] These were written in collaboration with multiple other composers.[13][14] Schrager also played the piano for music recorded for the latter film; serving as Al Jolson's accompanist.[15]

Schrager's most prolific years as a film score composer were between 1942 and 1950 when he created scores to over 20 films for a variety of Hollywood studios.[14] For Monogram Pictures he wrote the scores to Private Snuffy Smith (1942),[14] Sweethearts of the U.S.A. (1944),[16] The Guilty (1947),[17] High Tide (1947),[18] and Perilous Waters (1948).[19] For Producers Releasing Corporation he wrote the scores to Career Girl (1944) and Dixie Jamboree (1944).[19] For Columbia Pictures he wrote the scores to Gunfighters (1947) and Coroner Creek (1948).[20] For Allied Artists Pictures he wrote the score to Strike It Rich (1948),[19] and for United Artists he wrote the scores to Sleep, My Love (1948),[21] The Great Dan Patch (1949),[22] and The Iroquois Trail (1950).[19]

Shraeger also wrote the scores to several films for Paramount Pictures; including Take It Big (1944),[19] The National Barn Dance (1944),[14] People Are Funny (1946),[19] Tokyo Rose (1946),[19] Swamp Fire (1946),[19] Fear in the Night (1947),[23] and The Eagle and the Hawk (1950).[19] For 20th Century Fox he wrote the scores to Deadline for Murder (1946),[19] Strange Journey (1946),[14] Dangerous Years (1947),[19] and Roses Are Red (1947).[19] He created only one score for RKO Pictures; writing for the film The Green Promise (1949).[19] He also assisted Charlie Chaplin in composing the score for the film Monsieur Verdoux (1947)[24] and was credited as that film's music arranger and music director.[25]

Schrager also worked in radio. He was responsible for performing and composing the music for the 1940s radio drama Box 13 starring Alan Ladd.[26] He was a longtime composer and conductor for the radio program Lux Radio Theatre where he began working in 1936.[27] He also worked in that capacity for its associated television program Lux Video Theatre during the 1950s;[27] serving as music director of that program since its inception in 1950.[28]

Schrager was a staff composer for Four Star Television.[29] He composed music for the television programs The Detectives (1959),[29] Peter Loves Mary (1960–1961),[30] The Tom Ewell Show (1961), The Gertrude Berg Show (1961–1962),[31] Target: The Corruptors! (1961–1962),[32] The Dick Powell Theatre (1961–1963),[29] The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962–1963),[29] Saints and Sinners (1962–1963), and Summer Playhouse (1964). In his later career he became known for his work in American Western television series.[33] He won a Western Heritage Award in 1965 for his work as the composer for television series Rawhide (1964–1965).[34] Other Western programs that he composed music for included Johnny Ringo (1959–1960),[35] Wanted Dead or Alive (1959–1961),[36] The Westerner (1960), Gunsmoke (1964–1965), and The Big Valley (1966).[33]

Personal life

He married his first wife Glendora Glendon on August 31, 1934.[37] Glendora was the daughter of actor J. Frank Glendon.[38] Their marriage ended in divorce, and Glendora married her second husband, Bob Gary Gregory, in 1940.[39] Rudy married his second wife, Dorothy Morrison, on March 13, 1941.[40] Their daughter Susan was born a year later.[41] Susan became an educational psychologist, educator, and a spiritual leader with the Temple of the Universal Spirit in Los Angeles.[42] She is now known as Mother Sudha Puri and is connected to the Vedanta Centre in Cohasset, Massachusetts.[43] Rudy's third marriage to Louise Barnes also ended in divorce.[44]

Death and collection of his papers

Schrager died in Los Angeles, California on 24 August 1983.[3][45] The American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming has an archive of his papers.[22]

Filmography

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rudolph Schrager in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918
  2. 1 2 Rudolph Schrager in the 1930 United States Federal Census, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
  3. 1 2 Rudolph Schrager in the California, U.S., Death Index, 1940–1997
  4. ↑ Rudolph Noachim Schrager in the U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947, California
  5. ↑ Rudolph Schrager in the New York, U.S., State Census, 1915
  6. ↑ "Seniors in Final Concert: University of Southern California College of Music Graduating Members Well Received". Los Angeles Times. June 1, 1926. p. 24, part II.
  7. ↑ "Ohioans Will See Fine Show Tonight". Pasadena Star-News. March 22, 1926. p. 16.
  8. ↑ "Picture of Comic Sheet Opens Today". The Pasadena Post. July 9, 1926. p. 2.
  9. ↑ "Vaudeville Will Be Featured at Ritz on Monday". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. December 31, 1927. p. 5.
  10. ↑ L. M. J. (April 5, 1931). "School of Music Planned". Los Angeles Times. p. 39.
  11. ↑ "Hullabaloo Draws Many". Pasadena Star-News. June 10, 1932. p. 6.
  12. ↑ Hischak 2015, p. 537.
  13. 1 2 3 Moses 1999, p. 449.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 McCarty 2000, p. 271.
  15. ↑ Kiner & Evans 1992, p. 316.
  16. 1 2 Ulrich 2004, p. 455.
  17. 1 2 Silver 2010, p. 121.
  18. 1 2 Silver 2010, p. 131.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 McCarty 1972, p. 93.
  20. 1 2 Moses 1999, p. 94.
  21. 1 2 Silver 2010, p. 269.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rudy Schrager papers, 1940–1970". American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming. Archives West, Orbis Cascade Alliance. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  23. 1 2 Moses 1999, p. 139.
  24. ↑ Vance 2003, p. 348.
  25. ↑ Vance 2003, p. 388.
  26. ↑ Grams 2024, p. 41.
  27. 1 2 "Carries His Music Close to His Heart". Santa Cruz Sentinel. September 17, 1954. p. 26.
  28. ↑ "Hit Movies to Provide Video Theatre Stories". The Houston Post. August 15, 1954. p. 9, section 5.
  29. 1 2 3 4 "Rudy Schrager". Broadcasting Magazine: 2. March 4, 1963.
  30. ↑ Terrace 2013, p. 332.
  31. ↑ Leszczak 2012, p. 127.
  32. ↑ Terrace 2013, p. 338.
  33. 1 2 Lochner 2018, p. 417.
  34. ↑ "Rawhide Wins Two Western Heritage Awards". The Daily Herald. June 7, 1965. p. 18.
  35. ↑ Terrace 1979, p. 239.
  36. ↑ Terrace 2013, p. 341.
  37. ↑ Rudolph Schrager in the California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849–1980
  38. ↑ "Jonathan Glendon, Technocrat, Dies in Hospital". Los Angeles Daily News. March 18, 1937. p. 11.
  39. ↑ "Vital Records". The San Bernardino County Sun. October 3, 1940. p. 23.
  40. ↑ Rudolph N Schrager in the California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849–1980
  41. ↑ Susan Schrager in the California Birth Index, 1905–1995
  42. ↑ Perdomo, Daniela (January 26, 2008). "Gathering in the Spirit of Inclusiveness". Los Angeles Times. p. B2.
  43. ↑ "Living Histories – Mother Sudha Puri". 143tv CCTV. January 3, 2023.
  44. ↑ "Julian, Louise Barnes". Los Angeles Times. January 23, 2015. p. 16.
  45. ↑ "Schraeger, Rudolph". Los Angeles Times. August 26, 1983. p. 11, part IV.
  46. ↑ Nash 2019, entry "My Man Godfrey".
  47. ↑ Pitts 2010, p. 246.
  48. ↑ Moses 1999, p. 261.

Bibliography

  • Grams, Martin Jr. (2024). Radio Drama: A Comprehensive Chronicle of American Network Programs, 1932–1962. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9781476608266.
  • Hischak, Thomas (2015). The Encyclopedia of Film Composers. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9798216245742.
  • Kiner, Larry F.; Evans, Philip R. (1992). Al Jolson: A Bio-Discography. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780810826335.
  • Leszczak, Bob (2012). Single Season Sitcoms, 1948–1979: A Complete Guide. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786493050.
  • Lochner, Jim (2018). The Music of Charlie Chaplin. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786496112.
  • McCarty, Clifford (1972). "Rudolph Schrager". Film Composers in America; A Checklist of Their Work. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306704956.
  • McCarty, Clifford (2000). "Schrager, Rudy". Film Composers in America: A Filmography, 1911–1970. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195114737.
  • Moses, Robert, ed. (1999). AMC Classic Movie Companion. Hyperion. ISBN 9780786883943.
  • Nash, Jay Robert (2019). The Encyclopedia of Best Films: A Century of All the Finest Movies, K-R. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781538134153.
  • Pitts, Michael R. (2010). Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928–1982. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786457663.
  • Silver, Alain (2010). Film Noir: The Encyclopedia. Overlook Duckworth. ISBN 978-0715638804.
  • Terrace, Vincent (1979). The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs, 1947–1979. A. S. Barnes. ISBN 9780498021770.
  • Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings Since 1949. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810892507.
  • Ulrich, Rudolf (2004). Österreicher in Hollywood. Verlag Filmarchiv Austria. ISBN 9783901932298.
  • Vance, Jeffrey (2003). Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-4532-0.

Further reading

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