Personal info
Known for
Actor
Gender
Male
Birthday
31 December
Location
Illinois, United States
Edit pageFrank Skinner
Biography
Frank Skinner was an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, and author who enjoyed a long and prolific career in Hollywood. He began his musical career as a pianist in vaudeville, performing with his brother Carl, before becoming a successful arranger for New York dance orchestras during the 1930s.
He later entered music publishing and made his Hollywood debut as an arranger for MGM's The Great Ziegfeld (1936). In 1938, Skinner joined Universal Pictures, where he remained until 1966, working under music department head Joseph Gershenson. He frequently collaborated with Austrian-born composer Hans J. Salter.
Skinner became particularly associated with horror films and composed the memorable music for Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also created the dramatic main theme for Universal's Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. His other notable works included Written on the Wind (1956), Imitation of Life (1959), Back Street (1961), and Shenandoah (1965).
In addition to composing, Skinner was an influential music educator and author. His F. Skinner's Simplified Method for Modern Arranging was published in 1934, while Underscore (1950) became an important early textbook on composing and orchestrating music for films.
Through his extensive work across numerous genres, Frank Skinner became one of Universal's most prolific film composers of the mid-20th century.
