Born in London, England. The son of a Polish cabinetmaker and his Irish-born wife, he made his professional musical debut at 18 as an organist of London's St. James's Church and later developed into one of the world's foremost symphony orchestra conductors. An American citizen since 1915, he is credited with molding the Philadelphia Orchestra into one of the world's finest. A tireless innovator who introduced many controversial compositions, he was also dedicated to bringing classical music to the masses and for that purpose agreed to appear as himself in several films. A handsome man of aristocratic features and a photogenic white mane, he co-starred with Deanna Durbin in one of her most successful films, ONE HUNDRED MEN AND A GIRL (1937), and later persuaded Walt Disney to create the musical animation film FANTASIA (1940), with Stokowski as music advisor and on and off camera conductor. At the age of 80, Stokowski launched the American Symphony Orchestra, with which he toured successfully throughout the US and abroad. At his death at 95 in England, he was still making recordings.  Special Award 1941: "...and his associates for their unique achievement in the creation of a new form of visualized music in Walt Disney's production FANTASIA, thereby widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as an art form." Winner presented a Certificate. 1 Special Award