Born in St. Petersburg, Russia; nicknamed "Timmy." A graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music and St. Petersburg University, and the holder of a doctor of law degree from the University of St. Mary's, he began his musical career in 1919 as a concert pianist and conductor. In the 20s he introduced George Gershwin's music to Europe in a successful concert tour. He emigrated to the US in 1925 and was naturalized in 1937. In Hollywood from the early 30s, he scored numerous films in a wide range of genres and styles. He was perhaps the most versatile and certainly the best known of the American screen's composers. His melodious scores combined elements from both the European and American cultures, and he admitted to generous borrowing from the classical and folk repertoire of both continents. In 40 years as a screen composer, he contributed memorable scores and theme songs for many important films, ranging from a lone harmonica sound in HIGH NOON (1952) to a 100-piece orchestra in GIANT (1956). He won Academy Awards for the scores of HIGH NOON (1952) (two Oscars: for best score and best theme song), THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (1954), and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA (1958), and was nominated for several other Oscars. He also won many other international awards and citations. He authored an autobiography, Please Don't Hate Me (1960), and produced and directed the Soviet-American co-production TCHAIKOVSKY (1970). He died from injuries resulting from fracturing his pelvis in a fall in 1979.

Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Score) 1937: LOST HORIZON - Score  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Score) 1939: MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1942: THE CORSICAN BROTHERS  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1943: THE MOON AND SIXPENCE  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1944: THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1949: CHAMPION  Music Best Song 1952: HIGH NOON "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')" - Music  Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1952: HIGH NOON  Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1954: THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY  Nominated for Music Best Song 1954: THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY "The High and the Mighty" - Music  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1956: GIANT  Nominated for Music Best Song 1956: FRIENDLY PERSUASION "Thee I Love" - Music  Nominated for Music Best Song 1957: WILD IS THE WIND "Wild Is the Wind" - Music  Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1958: THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA  Nominated for Music Best Song 1959: THE YOUNG LAND "Strange Are the Ways of Love" - Music  Nominated for Music Best Song 1960: THE ALAMO "The Green Leaves of Summer" - Music  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1960: THE ALAMO  Nominated for Music Best Song 1961: TOWN WITHOUT PITY "Town Without Pity" - Music  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1961: THE GUNS OF NAVARONE  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Music Score substantially original) 1963: 55 DAYS AT PEKING  Nominated for Music Best Song 1963: 55 DAYS AT PEKING "So Little Time" - Music  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Music Score substantially original) 1964: THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score) 1971: TCHAIKOVSKY 23 nominations, 4 Awards