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Born in New Haven, Conn. on January 4, 1916, Lionel Newman was one of ten children - the youngest of seven boys - a child of Russian immigrant Jewish parents. While there may have been little money, their inheritance was truly rich - especially as embodied in that powerful personage, their mother, Luba, a strong woman who shepherded them through childhood; motivating them towards real achievement, and imprinting on all of them the forceful stamp of personality that could be felt by anyone who came into contact with any one of her "Newman Babies".

They all hit the world in full stride. Lionel Newman migrated to Hollywood where at the tender age of 16, he began conducting for impresario, Earl Carroll. It is also where he met his future wife, Beverly Carroll - a beautiful Earl Carroll Vanity’s showgirl, and niece of the impresario. While he had formal training in New York, after moving to Los Angeles, he continued his studies with Joseph Achron and Mario Castelnuevo-Tedesco.

In the 1930's, Newman earned his stripes conducting national tours and working as the piano accompanist for Mae West. She used to scold him for holding his hands too high in the pit saying, "I'm the show, Newman, not you".

At the young age of 18, he obtained a job playing piano on the Holland America ocean liner, the " S.S.Rotterdam". with his "Newman's Society Orchestra". This trip had great significance for him, for he always wanted to make another such trip to find his mother's home.

After serving an apprenticeship conducting and orchestrating "live shows", Newman joined 20th Century Fox as a rehearsal pianist under the guidance of his brother, Alfred Newman. Lionel and his brothers hit Hollywood at just the right time. It was a golden era, and they were its golden children. Their great energies and talents translated into power - not so much because they sought it - but because it was within them.

By 1959, Newman was promoted to Musical Director for Television at Twentieth Century Fox. This, as they say, "opened the doors to feature films". He was soon given the title of Vice President in charge of music for both television and features. This resulted in a promotion to Senior Vice President of all music for Twentieth Century Fox Films. He wrote several classic TV themes for Fox including The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis, Adventures in Paradise and Daniel Boone.

Lionel Newman's tenure with Twentieth Century Fox spanned 46 years, with over 200 films to his credit, including How To Marry A Millionaire, North To Alaska, Road House, and Love Me Tender (Elvis Presley's first picture). He was Musical Director for all of Marilyn Monroe's films at Fox - in accordance with her request. These included Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, There's No Business Like Show Business, River of No Return, and Let's Make Love - to name a few.

He has received eleven Academy Award nominations, and won an Oscar for Hello Dolly! in 1969. He has conducted the scores for Cleopatra, The Sand Pebbles, The Agony and the Ecstasy, The Long Hot Summer, The Young Lions, Alien and The Omen. He was the Musical Supervisor for Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi, Monsignor and The Fury. Although he did not consider himself a songwriter, he did receive a Certificate of Merit from Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), for over one million network performances of his 1948 hit, "Again", a pop standard that lived on long after its introduction in the film, Road House.

During the last few years of his tenure at Fox, Newman conducted major symphony orchestras in the United States, Canada, London and New Zealand - conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra, and at the Royal Albert Concert Hall - among other places.

Newman's wit and humor was infamous around the film capital. He was colorful with his words, and could set your imagination running wild. Frank Sinatra, in his biography, says that Lionel was one of the funniest men in Hollywood. Lionel Newman could be raunchy, but he also possessed a mental ability that shone like a light. He absolutely loved the film industry. In the world of film music, he worked very hard, and rose to join the Pantheon to become one of its giants. Lionel Newman was a perfectionist. He was tirelessly concerned with quality. He would always make "just one more take", if some little detail could be improved. He was a proud man. So proud was he of the Twentieth Century Fox Orchestra, he wanted to play at the level of a great symphony orchestra, and it did - especially when he conducted. He was a leader. Instrumental in the careers of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Dominic Frontiere, Pat Williams, and so many more.

Lionel Newman was a one-of-a-kind absolute original. A complex personality with contradictions. He could be completely self-confident AND self-deprecating, grandiose AND simple, brash AND painfully shy, eloquent AND raw. A most fierce adversary, and a most compulsively loving and loyal friend. He brought fun to everyone. He believed in progress, and the belief we are all infinitely improvable.

Lionel used to say over and over again to his best friend, composer John Williams: "The world is still beautiful, even with all the traffic, the injustice, the noise, the wars. The world is still beautiful. It's all we have and we should celebrate it." Just wait. Keep working. Stay in LOVE with music. Everything will come".

There's a very fine biography of Walter Lippman, entitled, "Walter Lippman and The American Century", which examines among other themes, the consequences of people's lives and talents, as they're synchronized with the events and times in which they lived.

It looks at history, taking note, that there are three kinds of men. The first kind, who live well ahead of their time. The second type, who arrive on the scene well past the time when their ideas are pertinent. And thirdly, those whose lives and talents fit perfectly the time in which they live. Lippman thought that if you had a strong enough concentration of this third type, at the right moment in time, the society in which it lived would flourish.

Lionel Newman belonged to this third group. A child of the Golden Age of Hollywood - he was a living part of it, and actually helped create it.

Newman retired in 1985 and passed away on February 3, 1989.

"Nothing gives me more pleasure than being able to share this music with you." Lionel Newman

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