Frank Edwin Churchill was an American composer of popular music for films. He wrote most of the music for Disney's 1937 movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, including "Whistle While You Work" and "Someday My Prince Will Come". The latter (without the Larry Morey lyrics) became a jazz standard covered by various jazz greats, including Oscar Peterson, Miles Davis, and Dave Brubeck.
History[]
Churchill began his career as a pianist in cinemas at the age of 15. After dropping out of medical studies at the University of Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in music, he eventually became accompanist at the Los Angeles radio station KNX (AM) in 1924.
He joined Walt Disney Productions in 1930, and scored many animated shorts - his song for The Three Little Pigs, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?", was a huge commercial success.
In 1937, he was chosen to score Disney's first full-length animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. His catchy, artfully written songs played a large part in the film's initial success and continuing popularity.
In 1942, Churchill and fellow composer Oliver Wallace won an Oscar in the category "Scoring of a Musical Picture" for co-writing the score for Dumbo. He also shared an Oscar nomination with Ned Washington for the song "Baby Mine" from Dumbo for Best Song. A year later, Churchill received two posthumous Oscar nominations; the first for co-writing the score to Bambi with Edward H. Plumb, and the second for co-writing the song "Love is a Song" from Bambi with lyricist Larry Morey.
Frank Churchill committed suicide on May 14, 1942, at his ranch north of Los Angeles in Castaic, California. He is purported to have died "at the piano" of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Although there is some speculation that his suicide was a result of negative discourse with Walt Disney regarding his latest scores for Bambi, it was more likely due to his deep depression and bought with heavy drinking after the deaths of two of his closest friends and fellow Disney orchestra members who had passed away earlier that year within a month of each other.
At the time of his death, Churchill had been working on music in the early stages of Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. In 2001, he was posthumously honored a Disney Legend.
Filmography[]
Year | Film | Position |
---|---|---|
1930 | The Chain Gang | Composer - uncredited |
1931 | The Castaway | Composer - uncredited |
1931 | The China Plate | Composer - uncredited |
1931 | The Busy Beavers | Composer - uncredited |
1931 | The Cat's Out | Composer - uncredited |
1931 | Egyptian Melodies | Composer - uncredited |
1931 | The Clock Store | Composer - uncredited |
1931 | The Fox Hunt | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | The Bird Store | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | The Grocery Boy | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | Barnyard Olympics | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | The Bears and Bees | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | Musical Farmer | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | Mickey in Arabia | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | The Whoopee Party | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | Bugs in Love | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | Touchdown Mickey | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | The Klondike Kid | Composer - uncredited |
1932 | Santa's Workshop | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Building a Building | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Mickey's Pal Pluto | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Birds in the Spring | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Mickey's Mellerdrammer | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Ye Olden Days | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Three Little Pigs | Composer - uncredited Songwriter: "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" |
1933 | Mickey's Gala Premier | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Old King Cole | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Puppy Love | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Lullaby Land | Composer - uncredited Songwriter: "Lullaby Land of Nowhere" |
1933 | The Steeple-Chase | Composer - uncredited |
1933 | Giantland | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Shanghaied | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Camping Out | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Playful Pluto | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Funny Little Bunnies | Composer Songwriter: "See the Funny Little Bunnies" |
1934 | The Big Bad Wolf | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Gulliver Mickey | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Mickey's Steam-Roller | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | The Grasshopper and the Ants | Songwriter: "The World Owes Me a Living" |
1934 | The Flying Mouse | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Orphan's Benefit | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Mickey Plays Papa | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | The Dognapper | Composer - uncredited |
1934 | Servants' Entrance | Musical Director: animation sequence - uncredited |
1935 | The Tortoise and the Hare | Composer - uncredited |
1935 | Mickey's Man Friday | Composer - uncredited |
1935 | The Golden Touch | Composer - uncredited |
1935 | The Robber Kitten | Composer - uncredited |
1935 | Who Killed Cock Robin? | Composer - uncredited |
1935 | Pluto's Judgement Day | Composer - uncredited |
1935 | On Ice | Composer - uncredited |
1935 | Three Orphan Kittens | Composer - uncredited |
1935 | Cock o' the Walk | Composer - uncredited |
1936 | Three Little Wolves | Composer - uncredited |
1936 | Thru the Mirror | Composer - uncredited |
1936 | Toby Tortoise Returns | Composer - uncredited |
1936 | Donald and Pluto | Composer - uncredited |
1936 | More Kittens | Composer - uncredited |
1937 | The Worm Turns | Musical Director - uncredited |
1937 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | music: "I'm Wishing" "One Song" "With a Smile and a Song" "Whistle While You Work" "Heigh-Ho" "Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum" "The Silly Song" "Someday My Prince Will Come" - uncredited |
1939 | The Practical Pig | Composer - uncredited |
1940 | Bone Trouble | Composer |
1940 | Pinocchio | Music Department - uncredited |
1941 | The Reluctant Dragon | Himself Composer |
1941 | Dumbo | music: "Look Out for Mr. Stork" "Roustabouts" "Baby Mine" - uncredited |
1942 | The Army Mascot | Composer - uncredited (Posthumous release) |
1942 | All Together | Composer - uncredited (Posthumous release) |
1942 | Bambi | Composer Songwriter: "Love is a Song" "Little April Shower" "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song" "Looking For Romance" - uncredited (Posthumous release) |
1942 | Saludos Amigos | Composer - uncredited (Posthumous release) |
1949 | The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | Songwriter: "The Merrily Song" (Posthumous release) |
References[]
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