Frank De Vol

Frank Denny De Vol (September 20, 1911 – October 27, 1999), sometimes credited mononymously as De Vol,

Early life De Vol was born in Moundsville in Marshall County in northern West Virginia, and was reared in Canton, Ohio. His father, Herman Frank De Vol, was band leader of the Grand Opera House in Canton, Ohio, and his mother, Minnie Emma Humphreys De Vol, had worked in a sewing shop. He attended Miami University.

De Vol began composing music when he was 12.

Concert appearances In the 1950s, De Vol's orchestra played frequently at the Hollywood Palladium under the concert name "Music of the Century".

Radio De Vol's orchestra and arrangements were available to radio stations via electrical transcriptions. His work was syndicated by Capitol Transcriptions, for which he also was musical director.

Hollywood De Vol wrote the scores for many Hollywood movies, receiving Academy Award nominations for four of them: Pillow Talk (1959), Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), Cat Ballou (1965) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967).

De Vol's numerous scores included Kiss Me Deadly (1955), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), McLintock! (1963), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Hustle (1975), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) and Herbie Goes Bananas (1980). He also scored many Doris Day comedies and films for director Robert Aldrich.

De Vol also composed the jingle for the Screen Gems' "Dancing Sticks" logo (1963–1965), which appeared on all television series produced by the television division of Columbia Pictures.

Television work De Vol was musical director (and occasionally seen) on Edgar Bergen's CBS Television prime-time game show Do You Trust Your Wife? (1956-1957). "Frank De Vol's orchestra" was featured on the NBC Television prime-time musical variety series The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney (1957-1958). During this time, he appeared on The Betty White Show (1954) and Rod Cameron's syndicated State Trooper. In 1964 he was seen in an episode during the first season of, My Favorite Martian and several guest spots on different television shows throughout the 1960s. In the 1970s, he appeared as the ironically named dour bandleader Happy Kyne on the talk show satire/parody Fernwood 2 Night (1977) and America 2-Night (1978).

De Vol is best recognized for his television theme tunes, like Family Affair, The Brady Bunch and My Three Sons. The My Three Sons theme was musically complex, with a marimba playing a triplet obligato (the famous tune "Chopsticks") over the melody in time, and was a hit single in 1961. He composed scores for episodes of McCloud and The Love Boat, amongst other work for television.

Beginning in 1969, "The Fuzz" became the theme song of Brazilian television newscast Jornal Nacional.

Acting De Vol was also an actor specializing in deadpan comic characters; first appearing in various episodes of Life With Elizabeth, starring Betty White. He was perhaps best known as the dour bandleader Happy Kyne on the Norman Lear talk show parodies Fernwood 2 Night and America 2-Night, in 1977–78. He also had a recurring role in I'm Dickens, He's Fenster as Myron Bannister, Dickens & Fenster's boss; and appeared on The Cara Williams Show, I Dream of Jeannie, Gidget, Bonanza, Petticoat Junction (the 1967 episode, "That Was the Night That Was" and the 1969 episode, "The Organ Fund" as Reverend Barton), Mickey starring Mickey Rooney, The Brady Bunch, Get Smart (at least 2 appearances as Professor Carleton) and The Jeffersons. He had also comic roles as Chief Eaglewood, the head of the Thundercloud Boys' Camp in 1961's The Parent Trap, and as the onscreen narrator in Jerry Lewis's 1967 comedy film The Big Mouth.

De Vol appeared as a bandleader in the last season of My Three Sons, in addition to writing the theme music and serving as in-house composer for most of the show's twelve seasons. He also scored most episodes of Family Affair, including many of the same incidental music cues as My Three Sons.

In 1980, he appeared in the second season of Diff'rent Strokes, in episode 22, "The Slumber Party".

De Vol preferred to be credited as "Frank De Vol" for his acting appearances, and as "De Vol" for his musical work.

Personal life De Vol was initiated as an honorary member of the Gamma Omega chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the national fraternity for men in music, in 1962.

In the mid-1990s, well into his eighties, De Vol was active in the Big Band Academy of America.

He was married twice, first to Grayce Agnes McGinty in 1935. The 54-year marriage produced two daughters, Linda Morehouse and Donna Copeland, and ended with Grayce's death in 1989. His second marriage was to television actress and big band singer Helen O'Connell from 1991 until her death in 1993.

Death De Vol died of congestive heart failure on October 27, 1999, in Lafayette, California. He is interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills.

Filmography Composer

World for Ransom (1954) Kiss Me Deadly (1955) The Big Knife (1955) Attack (1956) The Ride Back (1957) Johnny Trouble (1957) Pillow Talk (1959) Murder, Inc. (1960) ’’The Old Sweet Songs of Christmas’’ (1960) Lover Come Back (1961) Boys' Night Out (1962) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) The Thrill of It All (1963) For Love or Money (1963) Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963) McLintock! (1963) The Wheeler Dealers (1963) Good Neighbor Sam (1964) Send Me No Flowers (1964) Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) Cat Ballou (1965) The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) The Glass Bottom Boat (1966) Family Affair (1966) The Ballad of Josie (1967) The Happening (1967) Caprice (1967) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) The Dirty Dozen (1967) What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968) The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) The Brady Bunch (1969) Krakatoa, East of Java (1969) Ulzana's Raid (1972) Emperor of the North Pole (1973) The Longest Yard (1974) Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975) Hustle (1975) Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) The Choirboys (1977) The Frisco Kid (1979) Herbie Goes Bananas (1980) ...All the Marbles (1981)

Actor The Parent Trap (1961) - Mr. Eaglewood Boys' Night Out (1962) - One of the guys in the hallway (uncredited) A Very Special Favor (1965) - Desk Clerk The Big Mouth (1967) - Bogart W.C. Fields and Me (1976) - Undertaker (uncredited) The Frisco Kid (1979) - Piano Player - Old Timer

Academy Award nominations Pillow Talk (1959) Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) Cat Ballou (1965) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)