Age, Biography and Wiki

Franz Waxman (Franz Wachsmann) was born on 24 December, 1906 in Königshütte, Upper Silesia, German Empire (now Chorzów, Poland), is a German film composer (1906–1967). Discover Franz Waxman's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 60 years old?

Popular As Franz Wachsmann
Occupation music_department,composer,soundtrack
Age 60 years old
Zodiac Sign Capricorn
Born 24 December, 1906
Birthday 24 December
Birthplace Königshütte, Upper Silesia, German Empire (now Chorzów, Poland)
Date of death 24 February, 1967
Died Place Los Angeles, California, United States
Nationality Poland

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 24 December. He is a member of famous Music Department with the age 60 years old group.

Franz Waxman Height, Weight & Measurements

At 60 years old, Franz Waxman height not available right now. We will update Franz Waxman's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
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Who Is Franz Waxman's Wife?

His wife is Alice Schachmann (m. ?–1957)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Alice Schachmann (m. ?–1957)
Sibling Not Available
Children John W. Waxman

Franz Waxman Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Franz Waxman worth at the age of 60 years old? Franz Waxman’s income source is mostly from being a successful Music Department. He is from Poland. We have estimated Franz Waxman's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Music Department

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Timeline

1906

Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906 – February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre.

His film scores include Bride of Frankenstein, Rebecca, Sunset Boulevard, A Place in the Sun, Stalag 17, Rear Window, Peyton Place, The Nun's Story, and Taras Bulba.

He received twelve Academy Award nominations, and won two Oscars in consecutive years (for Sunset Boulevard and A Place in the Sun).

He also received a Golden Globe Award for the former film.

Bernard Herrmann said that the score for Taras Bulba was "the score of a lifetime."

1923

In 1923, at age 16, Waxman enrolled in the Dresden Music Academy and studied composition and conducting.

Waxman lived from the money he made playing popular music and managed to put himself through school.

While working as a pianist with the Weintraub Syncopators, a dance band, Waxman met Frederick Hollander, who eventually introduced Waxman to the eminent conductor Bruno Walter.

1930

Waxman worked as an orchestrator for the German film industry, including on Hollander's score for The Blue Angel (1930).

1934

One of his first dramatic scores was for the film Liliom (1934).

That year Waxman suffered a severe beating by Nazi sympathizers in Berlin that led him to leave Germany and move with his wife first to Paris, and soon after to Hollywood.

In Hollywood, Waxman met James Whale, who had been highly impressed by Waxman's score for Liliom.

1935

The success of his score for Whale's Bride of Frankenstein (1935) led to the young composer's appointment as Head of Music at Universal Studios.

Waxman had used classical forms before: the climactic "Creation" cue from The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), as Christopher Palmer expresses it, "is in effect a fantasia on one note."

1936

Waxman, however, was more interested in composition than musical direction for film, and in 1936 he left Universal to become a composer at MGM.

1940

Waxman scored a number of pictures during the next few years, but the score for Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) made his name.

Waxman was frequently called to work on scores of horror or suspense films, and Rebecca was the culmination of the genre for Waxman.

Rebecca was Hitchcock's first Hollywood film as part of his contract with David O. Selznick, and thus it was the first time he was allowed a full symphonic score.

Selznick financed the film at the same time as he was making Gone With the Wind.

Waxman's score for Rebecca is eerie and ethereal, often setting the mood and as Jack Sullivan put it, becoming a "soundboard for the subconscious."

1943

In 1943, Waxman left MGM and moved to Warner Bros., where he worked alongside such great film composers as Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

1944

A period of extended composition followed, including such films as Mr. Skeffington (1944) and Objective, Burma! (1945).

1947

Waxman also founded the Los Angeles Music Festival in 1947 with which he conducted a number of West Coast premieres by fellow film composers, and concert composers alike.

Waxman was born Franz Wachsmann in Königshütte to Jewish parents in the German Empire's Prussian Province of Silesia (now Chorzów, Poland).

At the age of three Waxman suffered a serious eye injury involving boiling water tipped from a stove, which left his vision permanently impaired.

In 1947, Waxman formed the Los Angeles Music Festival, for which he served as music director and conductor for the rest of his life.

Waxman's goal with the LA Music Festival was to bring the thriving town to "European cultural standards", according to Tony Thomas.

In addition to performing the work of great masters such as Stravinsky, he also collaborated with his colleagues, such as Miklós Rózsa, conducting his Violin Concerto.

By 1947, Waxman had left Warner Bros., to become a freelance film composer, taking only the jobs he wanted rather than being appointed by the studio.

1948

Waxman scored the film Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), which climaxes with the use of a passacaglia, highlighting Waxman's highly inventive use of unusual musical forms in film.

1950

His work on Sunset Boulevard (1950) led to an Academy Award.

The score is fast-paced and powerful, utilizing various techniques to highlight the insanity of Norma Desmond, including low pulsing notes (first heard in The Bride of Frankenstein) and frequent trills.

According to Mervyn Cooke, Richard Strauss's opera Salome was the inspiration for the wild trills heard during Desmond's insane final performance.

However, while awards for film music highlighted the beginning of the 1950s, Waxman now began to write serious works for the concert hall.

Composed to commemorate the death of Waxman's wife, Joshua with its strong Hebrew influences and extensive use of form is a powerful example of Waxman's compositional powers by the end of the 1950s.

Waxman's later life saw continuing growth of his reputation as a composer.

1951

Waxman received a second consecutive Oscar for A Place in the Sun (1951).

1955

The Sinfonietta for Strings and Timpani came in 1955 and 1959 saw the completion of Waxman's oratorio Joshua.

1957

A climactic scene in Objective, Burma! was scored fugally, and this would become one of Waxman's trademarks, returning in The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and Taras Bulba (1962).

1959

He also composed concert works, including the oratorio Joshua (1959), and The Song of Terezín (1964–65), a work for orchestra, chorus, and children's chorus based upon poetry written by children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II.