Walter Greene
| Walter Greene | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 23, 1910 Tarkio, Missouri USA |
| Died |
December 23, 1983 (aged 73) Victorville, California USA |
Walter Greene (January 23, 1910 – December 23, 1983) was a film and television composer who worked on numerous productions for over 30 years.
Career
His early career consisted of music scores for films such as Jesse James' Women (1954), Teenage Doll (1957), The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), Teenage Monster (1958), War of the Satellites (1958) and Thunder in Carolina (1960). However while Greene composed for a variety of genres, he is arguably most well known for his work at United Artists, providing the musical scores for numerous Pink Panther, The Inspector and Misterjaw animated shorts in the 1960s and 1970s, replacing William Lava, starting with the 21st entry in the series, Pink-A-Boo. Greene's memorable scores were built around "The Pink Panther Theme" composed by Henry Mancini, creating different variations of the famous theme. Unlike the music scores composed by Bill Lava, which closely followed the action of the film, Greene's compositions were generic and could be reused more freely. Indeed, Greene's scores appeared frequently from Pink-A-Boo in 1966 until the final Pink Panther theatrical short, Therapeutic Pink in 1977.
Greene also had a brief stint creating music for six Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts from 1966 to 1967:
- A Squeak in the Deep
- Feather Finger
- Swing Ding Amigo
- Sugar and Spies
- Taste of Catnip
- Daffy's Diner
In 1946, Greene earned an Academy Award nomination for his score to the 1945 film Why Girls Leave Home.
In 1960, Greene provided the score for the German/Polish film First Spaceship on Venus.
Death
Greene died on December 23, 1983 in Victorville, California, shortly after the Pink Panther cartoons were internationally syndicated.