George Duning

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George Duning (February 25, 1908 – February 27, 2000) was an American musicial and film composer. He was born in Richmond, Indiana and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where his mentor was Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

In his early 20s Duning played trumpet and piano for the Kay Kyser band, later arranging most of the music for Kyser's radio program, Kollege of Musical Knowledge. It was during the Kyser band's appearance in Carolina Blues (1944) that Duning's work was noticed, leading to a Columbia contract. Duning joined the Navy in 1942 and served as a conductor and arranger with Armed Forces Radio.

Film and TV career

Morris Stoloff signed Duning to Columbia Pictures in 1946, where he worked almost exclusively through the early 1960s, collaborating most often with director Richard Quine.

Prominent Duning scores are two of the best examples of western genre – the original 3:10 to Yuma, and Cowboy – and those he composed for films as diverse as Picnic, The World of Suzie Wong, The Devil at Four O'Clock, Bell, Book, and Candle and Toys in the Attic.

Duning shared music adaptation credit with Nelson Riddle for the highly successful 1957 film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey starring Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth.

During his career, Duning worked on more than 300 film and television scores. His notable television work includes Tightrope, Star Trek, The Big Valley and Naked City, a…