John Beal (composer)
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John Beal (born January 20, 1947 in Santa Monica, California) is an American film composer working in Hollywood, California. John Beal is notable for scoring numerous hit television series, as a composer of movie trailer music for the major motion picture studios and, more recently, as the General Manager of the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra.
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[edit] Early Life
John Beal was raised in La Cañada Flintridge, California, graduated from John Muir High School (Pasadena, California), and attended San Diego State University and UCLA. He studied percussion with William Kraft, Danlee Mitchell, and Irv Cotler (drummer for Frank Sinatra) and film scoring with Dominic Frontiere, George Duning and Earle Hagen. According to his official biograpy, Beal served in the USMC with a combat tour in Vietnam and over the course of 200 combat missions was decorated for heroism, bravery, valor and gallantry.
[edit] Career
Beal, who was a professional soloist in a boys choir at age 8 and a professional drummer by age 10, started out in Hollywood with recording stars Olivia Newton-John, Johnny Mathis, Frankie Avalon, and was music director for Phyllis Diller and many TV variety shows. He has scored numerous hit television series, including "Vega$' with Robert Urich, Eight is Enough with Dick Van Patten and Betty Buckley, Happy Days with Ron Howard and Henry Winkler, Laverne & Shirley with Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, "Goodtime Girls" with Annie Potts and Georgia Engel and "Chicago Story" with Dennis Franz and Craig T. Nelson. His feature films include Zero to Sixty starring Darren McGavin and Joan Collins, The Funhouse from director Tobe Hooper, Terror in the Aisles starring Donald Pleasance, and The Man with Bogart's Face starring Robert Sacchi.
In the 1970s, with his mentor - the "Godfather of Trailers," Hollywood's marketing guru Andrew Kuehn of Kaleidoscope Films (Jaws and other major hit films) - John was involved in the very inception of today's contemporary trailer format and is the composer who defined its musical approach. Specializing in composition for theatrical marketing for over twenty years, his list of credits includes campaigns for such hit films as JFK, Titanic, The Matrix, Forrest Gump, 'The Last Samurai," Aladdin, The Hunt for Red October, True Lies, In the Line of Fire, Patriot Games, Mask of Zorro, Black Rain, Ghost, Finding Neverland, and hundreds more. If you tally the box office results from Daily Variety, the success of films to which he has contributed marketing music is literally measured in billions of dollars.
[edit] Other Projects
John Beal composed and arranged music for Disneyland and Walt Disney World (America Sings and Carousel of Progress) and Gentle Jungle and Enchanted Village theme parks. Beal has composed and produced the music for commercials from Apple, NASDAQ, Ben & Jerry's, AMGEN, Dr. Pepper and many other major advertisers.
John Beal was appointed as the General Manager of the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra in 2006, and is President of Reeltime Music Inc., through which he consults in motion picture creative advertising.
[edit] Activities
Beal has been Governor of the Composers & Lyricists Guild of America (CLGA), Governor of the Los Angeles Chapter of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Alternate National Trustee of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, is a Platinum member of the Society of Composers & Lyricists, and an active member of ASCAP, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, American Society of Music Arrangers and Copyists.
[edit] Recordings
Evergreen: Music from the films of Barbra Streisand Sonic Images 828-278-909-2
Mark Snow: The SNOWFILES Sonic Images SID-8902
Disturbing Behavior Sonic Images SID-8811
The Best of Stephen King, Vol. 1 Cinerama CIN2200-2
Apocalypse Nam, the 10,000 Day War Edel Screen EDS 5407-2
Watch the Skies Sonic Images SID 8901
Heart of the Ocean Sonic Images SID 8807
The Funhouse Intrada JNBL 4001
Coming Soon Sonic Images SID2-8815
Super Scary Monster Party GNP Crescendo GNPD2240
[edit] References - Articles and Books
The Emerging Film Composer book by Richard Bellis, 2006 pp. 136-137
Welcome to Heart Attack City by John Beal, THE SCORE, Volume XII Number 4, Winter 1998 p. 1, (continues on p. 4) [Online]
John Beal, Musical Chameleon Nov 11, 1998, interview by Helene San, [Cinemusic.net]
The Modern Hollywood Composer: Interview with Composer John Beal, by Simon Barber, Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts [Interview]
The Art of Scoring Trailers: John Beal by Lukas Kendall, Part 1 - Film Score Monthly Magazine, issue #35, July 2003, pp 6-7, Part 2 continues in issue #36/37 Aug/Sep 1993, pp18-19 [Online version]
Art of the Tease by Rick Sherwood, Hollywood Reporter August 25, 1992 pp. S-39-S-72
Coming Attractions!: The two-minute film scores of John Beal by Randall D. Larson, "THE SCORE" Cinefantastique, June 1999, Volume 31, Number 6 p. 60
