Biography
Born on 18 June 1902 in Haverhill, Massachusetts, Alter died in New York on 3 November 1980. His work as composer, pianist and arranger followed training at the New England Conservatory of Music. Already in his early teens he supplied piano accompaniment in silent-movie theaters, then spent the 1920s backing the flamboyant entertainer Nora Bayes as well as Beatrice Lillie, Helen Morgan and others. Later that decade he furnished songs for a string of Broadway musicals and revues: A La Carte (1927), Earl Carroll Vanities Of 1928, Americana Of 1928 (“My Kinda Love,” lyric Jo Trent), Sweet And Low (1930, “Overnight,” lyric Billy Rose–Charlotte Kent), Ballyhoo (1931) and Hold Your Horses (1933).
With the arrival of sound films he relocated to Hollywood, where he supplied both full scores and individual numbers for Lord Byron Of Broadway (1929, “Nothin’ But The Blues,” lyric Joe Goodwin), Hollywood Revue Of 1929 (“Gotta Feelin’ For You,” Jo Trent), Take A Chance (1933, “Come Up And See Me Sometime,” Arthur Swanstrom), Dizzy Dames (1935, “I Was Taken By Storm,” Edward Heyman), The Old Homestead (1935, “Moonlight In Heaven,” Jack Scholl), Sing, Baby, Sing (1936, “You Turned The Tables On Me,” Sidney D. Mitchell), Rainbow On The River (1936, “Rainbow On The River,” “You Only Live Once,” “A Thousand Dreams Of Love,” Paul Francis Webster), The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1936, “A Melody From The Sky” [Oscar nomination], “Twilight On The Trail,” Mitchell), Make A Wish (1937, “Music In My Heart,” “My Campfire Dreams,” “Make A Wish,” Webster–Oscar Straus; “Old Man Rip,” Webster–Alter) and Vogues Of 1938 (“Turn On The Red Heat (Burn The Blues Away),” Webster; “King Of Jam,” Alter).
During World War II he served as Entertainments Officer at U.S. Air Force bases. After the war he returned to film work, writing “Dolores” (Frank Loesser, Oscar nomination, Las Vegas Nights, 1941), “Love Me As I Am” (Caught In The Draft, 1941), “If I Had A Wishing Ring” (Breakfast In Hollywood, 1946) and both “The Blues Are Brewin’” and “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?” (Eddie De Lange, New Orleans, 1947). One final screen project, Living In A Big Way (1947), featured Gene Kelly and a small dog dancing to Alter and Heyman’s “Fido And Me.”
Additional songs include “Au Revoir But Not Goodbye” (Raymond Klages), “I’ve Got Sand In My Shoes” (1934), “Manhattan Serenade” (1928, Harold Adamson; revived in 1942 by Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey), “Circus” (Bob Russell) and “Nina Never Knew” (1952, Milton Drake), the last a ballad memorably interpreted by Vic Damone. He also produced instrumental works such as “Manhattan Masquerade,” “Manhattan Moonlight,” “American Serenade” and “Side Street In Gotham.”
With the arrival of sound films he relocated to Hollywood, where he supplied both full scores and individual numbers for Lord Byron Of Broadway (1929, “Nothin’ But The Blues,” lyric Joe Goodwin), Hollywood Revue Of 1929 (“Gotta Feelin’ For You,” Jo Trent), Take A Chance (1933, “Come Up And See Me Sometime,” Arthur Swanstrom), Dizzy Dames (1935, “I Was Taken By Storm,” Edward Heyman), The Old Homestead (1935, “Moonlight In Heaven,” Jack Scholl), Sing, Baby, Sing (1936, “You Turned The Tables On Me,” Sidney D. Mitchell), Rainbow On The River (1936, “Rainbow On The River,” “You Only Live Once,” “A Thousand Dreams Of Love,” Paul Francis Webster), The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (1936, “A Melody From The Sky” [Oscar nomination], “Twilight On The Trail,” Mitchell), Make A Wish (1937, “Music In My Heart,” “My Campfire Dreams,” “Make A Wish,” Webster–Oscar Straus; “Old Man Rip,” Webster–Alter) and Vogues Of 1938 (“Turn On The Red Heat (Burn The Blues Away),” Webster; “King Of Jam,” Alter).
During World War II he served as Entertainments Officer at U.S. Air Force bases. After the war he returned to film work, writing “Dolores” (Frank Loesser, Oscar nomination, Las Vegas Nights, 1941), “Love Me As I Am” (Caught In The Draft, 1941), “If I Had A Wishing Ring” (Breakfast In Hollywood, 1946) and both “The Blues Are Brewin’” and “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?” (Eddie De Lange, New Orleans, 1947). One final screen project, Living In A Big Way (1947), featured Gene Kelly and a small dog dancing to Alter and Heyman’s “Fido And Me.”
Additional songs include “Au Revoir But Not Goodbye” (Raymond Klages), “I’ve Got Sand In My Shoes” (1934), “Manhattan Serenade” (1928, Harold Adamson; revived in 1942 by Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey), “Circus” (Bob Russell) and “Nina Never Knew” (1952, Milton Drake), the last a ballad memorably interpreted by Vic Damone. He also produced instrumental works such as “Manhattan Masquerade,” “Manhattan Moonlight,” “American Serenade” and “Side Street In Gotham.”
Albums
