Born in Meredosia, IL. Musical director and composer at Universal, then Universal-International, from 1936 until the late 1960s with almost 550 films that have used his scores or stock music. Beginning with Deanna Durbin's THREE SMART GIRLS (1936), through 21 Abbott & Costello movies (1940-1955) and scores of Frankenstein, Dracula and Sherlock Holmes vehicles, Skinner's music created the Universal/U-I sound for three decades. For a full listing of his credits, please see the Internet Movie Database.  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Score) 1938: MAD ABOUT MUSIC (w. Charles Previn)  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Original Score) 1940: THE HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic Picture) 1941: BACK STREET  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1942: ARABIAN NIGHTS  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1943: THE AMAZING MRS. HOLLIDAY (w. Hans J. Salter) 5 nominations