Biography
Herbert Stothart was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He studied music in Europe and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he later taught.
Stothart was first hired by producer Arthur Hammerstein to be a musical director for touring companies of Broadway shows, and was soon writing music for the producer's nephew Oscar Hammerstein II. He composed some of the music in the famous operetta, Rose-Marie. Stothart soon joined with many famous composers including Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin and Franz Lehár. In 1929, Stothart was signed to a large Hollywood contract by another would-be playwright of the day, Louis B. Mayer.
The last twenty years of his life were spent at MGM Studios, where he was under contract as a composer. One of the films that he worked on was the famous 1936 version of Rose-Marie, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. He won an Oscar for his musical score for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
He died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 63.
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