George Duning

by Jason AnkenyFilm composer George Duning was born in Richmond, IN on February 25, 1908, later studying theory at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and composition under Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. After playing trumpet in a series of big bands, in 1939 he was tapped as the musical director for the NBC radio program "Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge," and during World War II served as conductor and arranger with the Armed Forces Radio Network. Following the war Duning signed on with Columbia Pictures, notching the first of five Academy Award nominations for his work on 1949's Jolson Sings Again; he also earned Oscar bids for 1953's No Sad Songs for Me, 1953's From Here to Eternity, 1955's Picnic and 1956's The Eddy Duchin Story, but never took home the prize. From the 1960s onward Duning focused primarily on television, writing scores for series including The Big Valley, Naked City and Star Trek; he died February 27, 2000 at the age of 92.