Louis Alter
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| Louis Alter | |
| Born | June 18, 1902 Haverhill, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 5, 1980 New York, New York |
| Occupation | Songwriter, Composer, Pianist |
| Family | Father of actress Alison Alter |
| Awards | 1941, Academy Award Nomination, Best Original Song, for the song "Dolores" 1936, Academy Award Nomination, Best Original Song, for the song "A Melody From the Sky" |
| IMDb Page | |
Louis Alter (June 18, 1902, Haverhill, Massachusetts - November 5, 1980, New York City, New York) was an American pianist, songwriter and composer. Alter was 13 when he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films. He studied at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Stuart Mason.
Alter toured in vaudeville as the accompanist for headliners Irène Bordoni and Nora Bayes for whom he worked from 1924 until her death in 1928.[1] Since he had previously written some songs for Broadway shows, Alter decided to concentrate on songwriting after Bayes' death. His first hit was "Manhattan Serenade" (1929), originally an instrumental that later became the theme music of the popular Easy Aces radio program.
In 1929, Alter moved to Hollywood, where he wrote songs for films, beginning with The Hollywood Review of 1929, and he continued to provide piano accompaniment for various singers, including Beatrice Lillie and Helen Morgan.
His hits include "My Kinda Love," "You Turned the Tables on Me," "Nina Never Knew," "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" (for the 1947 New Orleans), "Blue Shadows" and "Rainbow on the River." He wrote "A Melody for the Sky" and "Twilight on the Trail" for The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936). In 1942 "Manhattan Serenade" once again became a hit after Harold Adamson added lyrics.
Alter also composed large-scale pieces for piano and orchestra. In later years, he lived in New York and maintained a summer residence on Fire Island. Twice nominated for Academy Awards, he was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1975 and died in New York five years later.
After Hurricane Katrina, his song "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" took on a different kind of meaning in 2005-06 and experienced a revival due to its use in various post-Katrina documentary films and TV shows. It was used for strong emotional effect in Spike Lee's four-hour When the Levees Broke (2006) and an equally moving dramatic sketch by Billy Crystal on HBO's Comic Relief 2006.
[edit] Listen to
- Jazz violinist John Frigo playing Louis Alter's "Nina Never Knew"
- Tommy Dorsey: "Manhattan Serenade"
[edit] Notes
- ^ Laurie, Joe, Jr. Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace. New York: Henry Holt, 1953. p. 326-7.
