Biography for
Miklós Rózsa More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

18 April 1907, Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary)

Date of Death

27 July 1995, Los Angeles, California, USA (complications of age)

Mini Biography

'Miklos Rozsa' studied the violin from the age of five. In 1926, he began studying at the Leipzig Conservatory. In 1929, his violin concerto was performed there. While living in Paris from 1931, Rozsa had his 'Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song' and his 'Symphony and Serenade for Small Orchestra' performed. After settling in London in 1935, he composed the ballet, 'Hungaria'. Luckily he met fellow Hungarian, Alexander Korda, who commissioned him to write an opulent score for Knight Without Armour (1937). While composing the score for The Thief of Bagdad (1940), Rosza moved to California, where he remained. His film music, though often in the foreground, was seldom intrusive, most often amplifying the image. During the 40s, his eerie mood music enhanced many a film noir.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Margaret Finlason

(1943 - 27 July 1995) (his death) 2 children

Trivia

The Dragnet "dum de dum dum" theme was previously used by Rozsa in his score for "The Killers" (1946). It can be prominently found in the resturant shootout scene toward the end of the film.

His Violin Concerto No. 2, written in 1956 for Jascha Heifetz and recorded that year for RCA Victor, was used as source material for the 1970 film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

His address in the 1990s was 2936 Montcalm Avenue, Los Angeles, California.

His Violin Concerto No. 2, written in 1956 for Jascha Heifetz and recorded that year for RCA Victor, was used as source material for the film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970).

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 532-534. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

His father wanted him to study chemistry. When it came time for young Miklos to go off to Liepzig, they reached a compromise: if he would study chemistry, he could also study music.

Personal Quotes

Rosza considered his score for Spellbound (1945) one of his best, but "Alfred Hitchcock didn't like the music - said it got in the way of his direction. I never saw him since."

Rosza never spoke an ungrateful word about the climate for composing in Hollywood, but he "never went near the studio except when it was absolutely necessary".

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z