Composer
Alex North
Born 4 December 1910 · Chester, Pennsylvania, USA — died 8 September 1991
Alex North (1910–1991) was an American composer who scored dozens of Hollywood films. He was a pioneer of jazz-influenced film music, notably with A Streetcar Named Desire, and wrote for epics and intimate dramas alike. He received fifteen Oscar nominations without a competitive win.
Key films
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
His breakthrough score, among the first major Hollywood film scores built on a jazz idiom.
Viva Zapata! (1952)
Early collaboration with director Elia Kazan, showing his gift for dramatic, character-driven scoring.
Spartacus (1960)
Acclaimed score for Kubrick's epic, regarded as one of the finest of the sword-and-sandal era.
Cleopatra (1963)On Cinespective
Large-scale orchestral score for one of Hollywood's biggest productions.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Oscar-nominated score for Mike Nichols' acclaimed adaptation of the Albee play.
Key awards
- 1986 Academy Honorary Award (first composer to receive one)
- Fifteen Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score or Song, no competitive win
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 61
- 1951A Streetcar Named DesireComposer
- 1951Death of a SalesmanComposer
- 1951The 13th LetterComposer
- 1952Viva Zapata!Composer
- 1952Pony SoldierComposer
- 1952The Member of the WeddingComposer
- 1952Les MiserablesComposer
- 1954DésiréeComposer
- 1954Go Man GoComposer
- 1954Decision for ChemistryComposer
- 1955The Rose TattooComposer
- 1955Man with the GunComposer
- 1955I'll Cry TomorrowComposer
- 1955The RacersComposer
- 1955UnchainedComposer
- 1956The Bad SeedComposer
- 1956The RainmakerComposer
- 1956The King and Four QueensComposer
- 1957The Bachelor PartyComposer
- 1957Four Girls in TownComposer
- 1958The Long, Hot SummerComposer
- 1958Stage StruckComposer
- 1958Hot SpellComposer
- 1958South Seas AdventureComposer
- 1959The Wonderful CountryComposer
- 1959The Sound and the FuryComposer
- 1960SpartacusComposer
- 1961The MisfitsComposer
- 1961The Children's HourComposer
- 1961SanctuaryComposer
- 1962All Fall DownComposer
- 1963CleopatraComposer
- 1964Cheyenne AutumnComposer
- 1964The OutrageComposer
- 1965The Agony and the EcstasyComposer
- 1966Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Composer
- 1968The Devil's BrigadeComposer
- 1968The Shoes of the FishermanComposer
- 1969Hard ContractComposer
- 1969A Dream of KingsComposer
- 1971WillardComposer
- 1972Pocket MoneyComposer
- 1974ShanksComposer
- 1974Once Upon a ScoundrelComposer
- 1975Bite the BulletComposer
- 1975Journey into FearComposer
- 1976The Passover PlotComposer
- 1978Somebody Killed Her HusbandComposer
- 1979Wise BloodComposer
- 1980CarnyComposer
- 1981DragonslayerComposer
- 1982Sister, SisterComposer
- 1984Under the VolcanoComposer
- 1985Prizzi's HonorComposer
- 1985Death of a SalesmanComposer
- 1987Good Morning, VietnamComposer
- 1987The DeadComposer
- 1988The PenitentComposer
- 1991The Last ButterflyComposer
- 2002Making 'The Misfits' · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2006North and the Music of the South · as Self (archive footage)Actor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.