September 20 - Frank Denny De Vol

On this day, in 1911, composer Frank Denny De Vol was born in Moundsville, West Virginia.

De Vol, as he was frequently known as, did most of his growing up in Canton, Ohio. His father, Herman, was the band leader at the Great Opera House so it's no surprise that De Vol started composing music at the advanced age of 12. Within two years, he was already a member of the Musicians' Union. He went to the University of Miami to study law, at his parents request, but only lasted six weeks. De Vol was determined to become a professional musician.

Taking whatever gigs he could find, De Vol did everything from playing violin in his father's orchestra to being background music in a Chinese restaurant. Eventually, in the 1930s, he would hook up with the Horace Heidt Orchestra as the man in charge of all the arrangements for the group. Arranging music was something he'd been doing incredibly well since he was 16 and he would continue to do it for decades to come. Sometimes he would record his own arrangement; sometimes he did it for someone else to play. A list of the folks who had hits with a De Vol arrangement would include Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Doris Day, The Supremes and Nat King Cole, who had a number one hit in 1948 with "Nature Boy."

Popular songs weren't the only place De Vol shined. He got into writing scores for Hollywood and got a nod from Oscar on four separate occasions. True the nod never turned into handing over an actual award, but when those nominations are for such films as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Pillow Talk, does that really matter? De Vol wrote the score for dozens of other familiar films including The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Yard, The Frisco Kid and the cult classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

De Vol was no stranger to the little screen, either. He did some acting, most notably on Fernwood 2 Night, but his most lasting television legacy would be his theme songs. Maybe you can't hum the number from Gidget or My Three Sons, even thought that one was a hit single, but I would put money on the fact that you know most of the words to another of his tunes. I'll give you a hint: it starts out "Here's the story, of a lovely lady... "

De Vol did work for Disney for both films and television. His scores for the big screen include The Parent Trap, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo and Herbie Goes Bananas. Fans of The Parent Trap might also recognize De Vol as Chief Eaglewood, the head of the Thundercloud Boys' Camp. For television, he composed the music for The Ghosts of Buxley Hall and Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang, both for the Wonderful World of Disney.

De Vol's final film score would reach the big screen in 1981. His last appearance on television would be in 1980 and his last TV composition would be in 1982. De Vol would remain active in the Big Band Academy of America for another decade and half. In October of 1999, he would pass away from congestive heart failure. He was 88.