Biography
Max Steiner was an Austrian-born American composer of music for theatre and films. Born in Vienna in 1888, he was a child prodigy who conducted his first operetta at the age of twelve and became a full-time professional composer, arranger or conductor at fifteen. He moved to Hollywood in 1929 and composed over 300 film scores, mainly for RKO and Warner Bros.
Steiner is known for his scores for King Kong (1933), Gone with the Wind (1939), Casablanca (1943), The Searchers (1956) and many others. He received 24 Academy Award nominations and won three: for The Informer (1935), Now, Voyager (1942) and Since You Went Away (1944). He was the first recipient of the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, for Life with Father.
Steiner collaborated frequently with directors including Michael Curtiz, John Ford, Howard Hawks, William Wyler and John Huston.
