North, Alex

North, Alex

(born Dec. 4, 1910, Chester, Pa., U.S.—died Sept. 8, 1991, Pacific Palisades, Calif.) U.S. film composer and conductor. North studied at the Curtis Institute and Juilliard. In the early 1930s he traveled to Moscow and became the sole American member of the Union of Soviet Composers. He composed ballet scores for Martha Graham and others and later studied and conducted in Mexico City. North's score for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), the first jazz-based film score, brought him to prominence. His dozens of films over 30 years include Spartacus (1960), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and Prizzi's Honor (1985).

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North, Alex (1910–91) film composer; born in Chester, Pa. After studies at Curtis and Juilliard, he began his screen career scoring A Streetcar Named Desire (1952); later credits include Spartacus (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).