Frank Denny De Vol, sometimes known simply as De Vol, was an American arranger, composer and actor, born on 20 September 1911, in Moundsville, West Virginia. In Music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing Music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch such A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Moundsville is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by He died on 27 October 1999. Events 312 - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar)
De Vol's theme song was Dream Awhile.
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Early Life and Career
De Vol grew up in Canton, Ohio. Canton is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Stark County. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads His father, Herman Frank De Vol, was band-leader of a local movie orchestra and his mother, Minnie Emma Humphreys De Vol, had worked in a sewing shop. He attended Miami University. Miami University (colloquially and incorrectly referred to as Miami of Ohio for clarification purposes is a Coeducational Public university founded in 1809
When De Vol was 14, he became a member of the Musicians' Union. After playing violin in his father's orchestra and appearances in a China restaurant he joined the Horace Heidt Orchestra in the 1930s, being responsible for the arrangements. Horace Heidt ( May 21, 1901 - December 1, 1986) was an American pianist Big band leader and radio-TV personality Later, he toured with the Alvino Rey Orchestra, before embarking on his recording career. Alvin McBurney ( July 1[[ 907]] – February 2 2004) known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American Swing era
As arranger
From the 1940s, De Vol wrote arrangements for the studio recordings of many top singers, including Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Dinah Shore, Doris Day and Vic Damone. Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17 1919 &ndash February 15 1965 known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25 1917 &ndash June 15 1996 also known as " Lady Ella " and the "First Lady of Song" is considered one of the most influential Sarah Lois Vaughan (nicknamed " Sassy " and " The Divine One ") ( March 27 1924, &ndash April Tony Bennett (born Anthony Dominick Benedetto; August 3 1926) is an American Singer of popular music, standards Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore February 29, 1916 - February 24, 1994) was an American Singer, Actress Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff (born April 3, 1922) is an American Singer, actress, and animal welfare advocate known as Vic Damone (born June 12, 1928) is an Italian American Singer. His single most famous arrangement is probably the haunting string and piano accompaniment to Cole's Nature Boy, which was a US Number One in 1948. " Nature Boy " is a song by Eden ahbez, published in 1947 In Popular music, a chart-topper is an extremely popular recording, identified by its inclusion in a ranked list&mdasha Chart &mdashof top Events Aldeburgh Festival is founded by Benjamin Britten, Eric Crozier and Peter Pears. That same year, he released a version of The Teddy Bears' Picnic (Capitol Records 15420), that he arranged and sang lead vocals on. The Teddy Bears' Picnic is a song written by John Walter Bratton in (1907 with lyrics added in 1932 by prolific songwriter Jimmy Kennedy, and is still a popular
In 1966-1967, he arranged "The Happening" for Diana Ross & The Supremes, their ninth #1 record and one of the few hit records for The Supremes that was not arranged by Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Mood Music
The success of Nature Boy, recorded on the Capitol Records label, led to an executive position for De Vol across at the rival Columbia Records. Capitol Records is a major United States -based Record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood California and New York City as Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company There, he recorded a series of orchestral mood music albums under the studio name "Music By De Vol" (which he also used for some of his film and TV work). The album Bacchanale Suite (1960) is a late, but acclaimed, example of De Vol's mood music. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Each track is by English composer Albert Harris and is named after a god or goddess of Greek mythology. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance
Concert Appearances
In the 1950s De Vol's orchestra played frequently at the Hollywood Palladium under the concert name "Music of the Century". The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood California.
Hollywood
De Vol wrote the scores for many Hollywood movies, receiving Academy Award nominations for four of them: Pillow Talk (1959), Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), Cat Ballou (1965), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Pillow talk is the relaxed intimate conversation that often occurs between two Sexual partners after the act of lovemaking, usually accompanied by cuddling caresses The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (also known as What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?) is a 1964 American Horror film Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Cat Ballou is a 1965 comedy-western film which tells the story of a woman who hires a famous gunman to avenge her father's murder but finds that the man she Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 Comedy - Drama Film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar.
Other familiar movies which featured work by De Vol include Send Me No Flowers (1964), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), Krakatoa, East of Java (1969), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), The Frisco Kid (1979), and Herbie Goes Bananas (1980). Send Me No Flowers is a 1964 American Comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. The Flight of the Phoenix is a 1964 novel by Elleston Trevor. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Krakatoa East of Java ( 1969) is a Movie starring Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo was the third of a series of films made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie - a white Volkswagen racing Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays The Frisco Kid is a 1979 movie directed by Robert Aldrich. The movie is a Western comedy featuring Gene Wilder as Avram Belinski Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Herbie Goes Bananas was the fourth of a series of films made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie &ndash the white Volkswagen racing Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar)
De Vol also composed the theme music for the Screen Gems logo, which appeared on all TV shows produced by Screen Gems, a division of Columbia Pictures. Screen Gems is an American subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment 's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different }} Columbia Pictures Industries Inc is an American Film production and distribution company
Television Work
"Frank DeVol's orchestra" was featured on the NBC prime time musical variety series "The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney", but the show only lasted one season (1957-58). Rosemary Clooney ( May 23, 1928 &ndash June 29, 2002) was an American Singer and actress whose warm radiant
De Vol is best recognized for his television theme tunes, like Family Affair, The Brady Bunch, and My Three Sons. Family Affair is a Situation comedy Television series that aired on CBS from September 12 1966 to September 9 1971 The series explored the The Brady Bunch is an American Television Situation comedy based around a large blended family. My Three Sons is a Situation comedy about a Scots/Irish-American family (Douglas/ O'Casey that ran from September 29, 1960, to August The latter theme was musically complex, with a piano playing a triplet obligato over the melody in 4/4 time, but was a commercial success as well, providing De Vol with a hit single in 1961. In classical music obbligato usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or The time signature (also known as " meter signature" is a notational convention used in Western Musical notation to specify how many beats Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
He composed scores for episodes of McCloud and The Love Boat, amongst much other work for TV. McCloud is an American television police drama that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1977. The Love Boat (simply Love Boat in its final season is an American Television series set on a Cruise ship, which
Acting
De Vol was also an actor and he is perhaps best remembered for his role as bandleader Happy Kyne on the 1970s talk show parodies Fernwood 2Nite and America 2-Night. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Fernwood 2 Night (or Fernwood Tonight) is a comedic Television program created by Norman Lear as a Spin-off America 2-Night was the continuation of the Talk-show Parody series Fernwood 2 Night. He appeared in several other TV series, such as I Dream of Jeannie, Bonanza, Petticoat Junction, The Brady Bunch, Get Smart (at least 2 appearances as Prof. I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a Fantasy premise Bonanza is an American television series that ran on NBC from September 12 1959 to January 16 1973 Petticoat Junction is an American Situation comedy produced by Filmways, which originally aired on the CBS network from 1963 The Brady Bunch is an American Television Situation comedy based around a large blended family. Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirized the secret agent genre Carlton), and The Jeffersons.
Private Life
De Vol was married two times, once to Grayce Agnes McGinty in 1935. This fifty-four year marriage produced two daughters; Linda Morehouse, and Donna Copeland, and ended 1989. He was married a second time in 1991 to the television actress and big band singer Helen O'Connell. Helen O'Connell (b May 23, 1920 in Lima Ohio &ndash September 9, 1993 in San Diego California) was a singer actress
Later life
In the mid-1990s, when well into his eighties, De Vol was active in the Big Band Academy of America. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999
Frank De Vol died of congestive heart failure on 27 October 1999 in Lafayette, California at the age of 88. Events 312 - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Lafayette is a city in Contra Costa County California, United States. He is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills. Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries The Hollywood Hills, an unofficial designation of part of Los Angeles, California, United States, are part of the eastern section of the low transverse
Awards and nominations
- Academy Award nomination: Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
- Academy Award nomination: Pillow Talk
- Academy Award nomination: Cat Ballou
- Academy Award nomination: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
External links
- Frank De Vol in the Internet Movie Database
- Frank De Vol in the Big Bands Database
- Frank De Vol in the Guild Music Catalogue of Great American Light Orchestras
- Frank De Vol's Unofficial Site - Mostly soundtracks
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