Louis De Francesco

Louis De Francesco, born Luigi Ettore De Francesco, (December 26, 1886[A] - October 5, 1974) was an Italian-born American composer and conductor.

Life and career

The son of Vincent De Francesco, Louis Ettore De Francesco was born in Atessa, Italy on December 26, 1886.[3] He was educated at the Naples Conservatory where he studied with Giuseppe Martucci and Camillo de Nardis.[7] He immigrated to the United States in 1910[3] where he initially was employed as a conductor of light operas with various touring companies.[2] In 1913 he was music director for a touring production of The Firefly starring Edith Thayer.[8][9] For more than three years he worked as a conductor with the De Koven Opera Company;[7] leading performances of Robin Hood on tour from 1915 to 1917.[10][11][12][13] He also worked as a conductor for an opera company organized by Oscar Hammerstein I and for the Aborn Opera Company.[7]

In September 1917 De Francesco became a naturalized American citizen.[14] In the 1920s he was active as a conductor of live orchestras which accompanied silent films.[15] By 1927 he was music director of the Famous Players Road Show with The Musical Courier describing him as "one of the most capable directors of motion picture music in the country."[16]

In 1928 music publisher Samuel Fox (SF) hired De Francesco to work as film score composer John Stepan Zamecnik's assistant in the Sound Synchronization department of his company which contracted with film companies like Paramount Pictures.[17] De Francesco's first score for SF was the The Wedding March (1928) which he co-wrote with Zamecnik.[18] He collaborated with Zamecnik on many subsequent film scores; including Redskin (1929), Betrayal (1929), Cavalcade (1933), Dangerously Yours (1933), Zoo in Budapest (1933), The Warrior's Husband (1933), The Devil's in Love (1933), Shanghai Madness (1933), and The Power and the Glory (1933) among others.[18]

In late 1932 De Francesco was appointed supervisor over the music department at Fox Movietone.[19] From 1932 to 1935 he composed the scores to 25 films made by Fox.[20] Some of these included Chandu the Magician (1932), State Fair (1933), The Warrior's Husband (1933), I Loved You Wednesday (1933), All Men Are Enemies (1934), Carolina (1934), Such Women Are Dangerous (1934), Grand Canary (1934), The Gay Deception (1935), and Here's to Romance (1935).[21] He later wrote the score to the 1940 patriotic film The Ramparts We Watch, and the scores to more than 100 short films.[22]

De Francesco died in Northridge, Los Angeles on October 5, 1974.[2]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Reference works on De Francesco give his birth year as 1888.[1][2] However, primary documents do not match this year. His birth year is given as 1886 in the U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925,[3] the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,[4] the California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997,[5] and the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014.[6]

Citations

  1. ^ American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers 1980, p. 117.
  2. ^ a b c Rehrig 1991, p. 181.
  3. ^ a b c Luigi Ettore De Francesco in the U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925, Certificate Number 313679
  4. ^ Luigi E De Francesco in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.
  5. ^ Louis E Defrancesco in California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997
  6. ^ Louis Defrancesco in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
  7. ^ a b c Ussher 1933, p. 184.
  8. ^ "Edith Thayer in The Firefly". Nashville Banner. November 22, 1913. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Boosts Edith Thayer". Corsicana Daily Sun. December 5, 1913. p. 9.
  10. ^ "Operetta in Montgomery". Musical America. Vol. 23, no. 4. November 27, 1915. p. 40.
  11. ^ "Robin Hood By De Koven Opera Company". The Musical Courier. Vol. 72, no. 15. April 13, 1916.
  12. ^ "Griffin Opera House". The Daily Intelligencer. June 14, 1916. p. 2.
  13. ^ "Colonial Theatre". Bryan-College Station Eagle. January 9, 1917. p. 4.
  14. ^ Luigi Ettore De Francesco in New York, U.S., New York County Supreme Court Naturalization Petition Index, 1907-1924, 6 September 1917
  15. ^ "The Ten Commandments A Remarkable Spectacle". Daily Sentinel. October 10, 1924. p. 6.
  16. ^ Vila, Josephine (August 25, 1927). "Music and the Movies: Musical Comedy and Drama". The Musical Courier. Vol. 95, no. 8. p. 20.
  17. ^ "Sam Fox Plans Several Film Musical Scores". Exhibitors' Herald and Moving Picture World. December 15, 1928. p. 45.
  18. ^ a b McCarty 2000, p. 77.
  19. ^ "Fox Music Staff Formed". Motion Picture Herald. December 3, 1932. p. 56.
  20. ^ McCarty 1972, pp. 18–19.
  21. ^ McCarty 2000, pp. 77–78.
  22. ^ McCarty 1972, pp. 19.

Bibliography

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