Ralph Rainger

Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films.

Biography Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, He had, however, studied piano from a young age and attended the Institute of Musical Art in New York. These were as soloist, accompanist to singers, and as duo-pianist with Adam Carroll or "Edgar Fairchild" (the name Milton Suskind used for commercial work).

He also prepared piano rolls between 1922 and 1928 for Ampico, Standard, and DeLuxe. Some of these used the "Reichenthal" surname, others the "Rainger" name he was gradually adopting commercially.

Other early musical activities include arranging for bandleader Ray Miller.

Rainger's first credit on Broadway, 1926's "Queen High", was as duo-pianist in the pit with Fairchild, following the show's break-in in Philadelphia. He later played for 1928's "Angela" and "Cross my Heart".

His first hit "Moanin' Low", with lyrics by Howard Dietz, was written for Clifton Webb's co-star Libby Holman in the 1929 revue The Little Show.

With the advent of motion picture sound and the film musical, Rainger and other songwriters found work in Hollywood. including "I'll Take An Option On You",

Rainger paid one year's tuition fees to the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg in advance, so that Schoenberg could pay for the transportation of his belongings to Los Angeles from Paris in 1933.

Rainger died in a plane crash near Palm Springs, California, in 1942.

Film credits Film credits include: 1930 - Tom Sawyer 1930 - The Virtuous Sin 1932 - The Big Broadcast 1932 - A Farewell to Arms 1932 - This Is the Night 1933 - A Bedtime Story 1933 - From Hell to Heaven 1933 - She Done Him Wrong 1933 - International House 1933 - Three-Cornered Moon 1934 - Kiss and Make-Up 1934 - Come on Marines 1934 - Bolero 1934 - All of Me 1934 - Little Miss Marker 1934 - Search for Beauty 1934 - Six of a Kind 1935 - The Devil Is a Woman 1935 - The Big Broadcast of 1936 1935 - Ruggles of Red Gap 1936 - The Big Broadcast of 1937 1936 - Rhythm on the Range 1936 - Rose of the Rancho 1936 - Poppy 1936 - Palm Springs 1936 - Three Cheers for Love 1937 - King of Gamblers 1937 - The Big Broadcast of 1938, including the Academy Award-winning song "Thanks for the Memory" 1937 - Blossoms on Broadway 1937 - Hills of Old Wyoming 1937 - Ebb Tide 1937 - Swing High, Swing Low 1937 - Waikiki Wedding 1937 - Souls at Sea 1938 - Her Jungle Love 1938 - Artists and Models Abroad 1938 - Romance in the Dark 1938 - The Texans 1939 - Gulliver's Travels, including the Academy Award nominated song "Faithful Forever" 1939 - $1000 a Touchdown 1941 - Cadet Girl 1941 - A Yank in the R.A.F. 1941 - Tall, Dark and Handsome 1941 - Rise and Shine 1941 - New York Town 1942 - Footlight Serenade 1942 - True to the Army 1942 - My Gal Sal