Gene Forrell

Gene Forrell
Born	1915  Pittsburgh
Died	2005  (aged 89–90) New York City
Occupation	Music director

Gene Forrell (1915–2005) was an American composer and conductor.

Forrell was born Eugene Finkelhor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, where he attended Allderdice High School and Duquesne University. He left Duquesne for New York City and a scholarship from the .

As a composer and orchestral conductor he worked in theater, dance, and television. He wrote the soundtrack to N.Y., N.Y. — A Day in New York, 1957, filmed by Francis Thompson. According to IMDB.com, "The soundtrack is light, breezy, and staccato." His other soundtrack credits include To Be Alive, a 1964 Academy Award-winning documentary. He served as a musical director in Europe and America. In England he conducted the , the , the , and the . He also wrote commercial jingles. For several years he conducted and recorded the popular Firestone Christmas albums. Forrell was also a longtime board member of the Musicians Foundation. Forrell did the musical score to the original version of The Private Life of a Cat ©1946 Alexander Hammid with "words" by Maya Deren.

Forrell died September 21, 2005, at his home in New York.

References[]

• Monica L. Haynes (2005). Obituary: Gene Forrell: Award-winning composer and conductor. Retrieved September 28, 2005.
• J. Hailey (2013). N.Y., N.Y.: Storyline. Retrieved August 2, 2013.