Alex North (born Isadore Soifer; December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer most famous for creating music for many films. His notable works include A Streetcar Named Desire (one of the first films with a jazz-based score), Viva Zapata!, Spartacus, Cleopatra, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He received fifteen Academy Award nominations for his compositions but did not win any. In 1986, he was honored with an Honorary Academy Award, the first ever given to a composer.

North also composed the music for the Oscar-nominated song "Unchained Melody," which appeared in the 1955 prison film Unchained. The song became widely performed and was one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century. Over 1,500 recordings of the song were made by more than 670 artists in many different languages.

Early life

Isadore Soifer was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, to Jewish parents Jesse and Beila (Bessie). Jesse and Beila moved to the United States from the Russian Empire around 1906. Jesse was born in Bila Tserkva, and Beila was born in Odessa (both cities are now in Ukraine). In Chester, Jesse worked as a blacksmith and skilled mechanic, while Beila ran a small grocery store. In 1915, Jesse died during an operation for appendicitis, leaving Beila with financial difficulties. In the late 1920s, Isadore’s older brother, Jacob, began writing articles for radical labor publications. To protect his family from political dangers, Jacob used the name "Joseph North" as a pseudonym. Soon after, the family adopted the same name, and Isadore Soifer became Alex North.

During World War II, Alex served as a captain in the U.S. Army Special Services division from 1942 to 1946. His role included organizing entertainment programs for patients in mental hospitals. He also composed music for more than twenty-six documentary films created by the Office of War Information. While in the military, he wrote the score for the documentary short film A Better Tomorrow (1945).

Career

North combined elements of modern music with traditional film music themes, creating memorable musical pieces. One of these became the well-known song "Unchained Melody." He was nominated for fifteen Oscars but did not win any. North is one of only four film composers to receive the Lifetime Achievement Academy Award, along with Ennio Morricone, Lalo Schifrin, and Quincy Jones. His frequent collaborator as an orchestrator was Henry Brant, an experimental composer. North won the 1968 Golden Globe Award for his music in The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968).

Some of his most famous film scores include A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Viva Zapata!, The Rainmaker, Spartacus, The Misfits, Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Dragonslayer, and Under the Volcano. His music for The Wonderful Country includes musical styles from Mexico and the United States.

North was asked to create a score for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), but the director, Stanley Kubrick, removed it later in the production. North later used some of its musical ideas in other works, such as The Shoes of the Fisherman, Shanks, and Dragonslayer. The original score remained unused until composer Jerry Goldsmith re-recorded it in 1993. In 2007, Intrada Records released the original 1968 recording sessions on CD from North's personal collection.

North also wrote a jazz score for Nero Wolfe, a 1959 CBS-TV series based on Rex Stout’s characters, starring William Shatner and Kurt Kasznar. A pilot and a few episodes were made, but the show was not aired. His unused score for Nero Wolfe and six recorded tracks are stored in the UCLA Music Library Special Collections. He also composed music for other TV shows, such as the anthologies Climax! and Playhouse 90.

Although North is best known for his Hollywood work, he spent years in New York writing music for the stage. He composed the score for the original Broadway production of Death of a Salesman. In New York, he met Elia Kazan, the director of Salesman, who later brought him to Hollywood in the 1950s. North was one of several composers who blended modern concert music into film, often using dissonance and complex rhythms. His work also has a lyrical quality, possibly influenced by Aaron Copland, whom he studied with in 1936–37.

North’s classical compositions include two symphonies and a Rhapsody for Piano, Trumpet obbligato, and Orchestra. His music for the 1976 TV miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man was nominated for a Grammy Award and won an Emmy Award. He also scored the sequel Rich Man, Poor Man Book II and the 1978 miniseries The Word. North is also known for the opening theme of the CBS anthology Playhouse 90 and the 1965 ABC miniseries FDR.

Legacy and recognition

In 2004, North received recognition for his lifetime achievements from the Sammy Film Music Awards.

In 2016, the Library of Congress included North's 1951 recording of the score for A Streetcar Named Desire in its National Recording Registry.

Death

North passed away on September 8, 1991, in Los Angeles, California. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea.

Awards

The American Film Institute placed North's score for A Streetcar Named Desire at number 19 on their list of the greatest film scores. His scores for these films were also nominated for the list:

• Cleopatra (1963)
• The Misfits (1961)
• Spartacus (1960)
• Viva Zapata! (1952)
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

North was nominated for fifteen Academy Awards during his career. One nomination was for Best Original Song, and the rest were for Best Original Score. This made him the most-nominated composer who never won an Academy Award. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 1986. He was the first composer to be given this award.

Nominated for Academy Awards:
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
• Death of a Salesman (1951)
• Viva Zapata! (1952)
• The Rose Tattoo (1955)
• Best Original Song (with Hy Zaret) "Unchained Melody" (1955)
• The Rainmaker (1956)
• Spartacus (1960)
• Cleopatra (1963)
• The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
• The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
• Shanks (1974)
• Bite the Bullet (1975)
• Dragonslayer (1981)
• Under the Volcano (1984)
Won an Honorary Oscar in 1986: "in recognition of his outstanding skill in creating memorable music for many distinguished films."

Golden Globe Awards for Original Score:
• Nominated for Spartacus (1960)
• Won for The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)

ASCAP Award for Original Score:
• Won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986
• Won for Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

Emmy Awards for Music Composition:
• Won for Rich Man, Poor Man (1976)
• Nominated for The Word (1978)
• Nominated for Death of a Salesman (1985)

Grammy Awards for Original Score:
• Nominated for Cleopatra (1963)
• Nominated for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
• Nominated for Rich Man, Poor Man (1976)