Born in San Francisco, California. A cellist's son, he intended at first to become a painter and did not start his musical training until the age of 18. Three years later he began performing with various symphony orchestras and in 1929 went to Hollywood as an arranger for Fox. He joined Warner Bros. as an orchestrator in 1934 and began composing for the screen in 1930, largely uncredited until 1937. He subsequently scored or orchestrated many Hollywood films for various studios, winning an Academy Award for the score of THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946). Some of his notable non-nominated credits include THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE (1936), TOPPER (1937), TOPPER TAKES A TRIP (1939), CHINA GIRL and THE BLACK SWAN (incidental music) (both 1942), LIFEBOAT, HOME IN INDIANA and WING AND A PRAYER (all 1944), THREE CAME HOME, CAPTAIN CAREY, U.S.N. and BROKEN ARROW (all 1950), THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT (1952), HONDO (1953), VERA CRUZ (1954), THE RAINS OF RANCHIPUR (1955), THE SUN ALSO RISES (1957), THE BARBARIAN AND THE GEISHA (1958), NEVER SO FEW (1959), ONE-EYED JACKS and HOMICIDAL (both 1961), GERONIMO (1962) and THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965 - uncredited). Beginning in 1954, he composed music for many television series: "Father Knows Best," "Rawhide," "Outlaws," "Empire," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "I Spy," "The Guns of Will Sonnett" and "Lancer."  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1945: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW  Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1946: THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1947: THE BISHOP'S WIFE  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1948: JOAN OF ARC  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1953: ABOVE AND BEYOND  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1956: BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards 1957: BOY ON A DOLPHIN  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards 1957: AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1958: THE YOUNG LIONS 9 nominations, 1 Award