Green, John (Waldo)
Green, John (Waldo)
Green, John (Waldo), American pianist, conductor, arranger, and composer; b. N.Y., Oct. 10, 1908; d. Beverly Hills, May 15, 1989. He studied economics at Harvard Univ. (B.A., 1928), where he also received instruction in theory from W.R. Spalding; later studied piano with Hilsberg, orchestration with Deutsch, and conducting with Tours. Working as an arranger for Guy Lombardo, he produced his first hit song, Coquette (1928); while working as accompanist to Gertrude Lawrence, he wrote the popular Body and Soul (1930). He became an arranger for Paramount Pictures in Holly-wood (1930); made recordings with his own dance band and performed on the radio. He settled in Hollywood as a member of the music staff of MGM Studios (1942), serving as head of its music dept. (1949-58). He prepared award-winning adaptations of the original scores for film versions of Easter Parade (1948), An American in Paris (1951), West Side Story (1961), and Oliver! (1968); he also wrote the score for the film Raintree County (1957). He was assoc. conductor of the Los Angeles Phil. (1959-61); also appeared as a guest conductor with several of the major U.S. orchs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire