Leigh Harline
Leigh Adrian Harline was an Academy Award-winning film composer and songwriter. He was born on 26 March 1907, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the son of soldier Charles Härlin and Jahanna Matilda Härlin. He was the youngest of 13 children. His parents came from the village of Härfsta in Simtuna parish, Sweden. They were baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1888, and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1891. Once in the United States, they changed their surname to Harline. Leigh was baptized a member of the Church at age eight.
He attended Granite High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and later studied at the University of Utah. After graduating from the University of Utah, he studied piano and organ with Mormon Tabernacle Choir conductor, J. Spencer Cornwall.
In 1928, he moved to California and worked as a composer, conductor, arranger, instrumentalist, singer, and announcer at radio stations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He arranged music for the first transcontinental radio broadcast to originate from the West Coast in 1931, and was then hired by Walt Disney in 1932, where he scored over 50 tunes, including tunes for the Silly Symphonies cartoon series in the 1930s. He became well known for his “musical sophistication that was uniquely ‘Harline-esque’ by weaving rich tapestries of mood-setting underscores and penning memorable melodies for animated shorts and features.”
He won the Academy Award for Best Original Music Score and the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “When You Wish Upon a Star,” featured in Disney’s classic film Pinocchio (1940). The tune later became the theme song for the Disney television series, The Wonderful World of Disney.
Leigh worked with Frank Churchill, Larry Morey, and Paul J. Smith on such Disney film tunes as “I’m Wishing,” “Whistle While You Work,” “Heigh-Ho,” and “Some Day My Prince Will Come” in Disney studio’s first animated feature-length cartoon Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.
In 1940 he joined the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). In 1941, he left Disney to compose for other studios. His impeccable list of credits includes Road to Utopia (1945), Nocturne (1946), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), The Boy with Green Hair (1948), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), Monkey Business (1952), The Desert Rats (1953), Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955), 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956), Ten North Frederick (1958), The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959), The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962), and 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964).
Leigh was also nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Musical (1943, 1944). He received his first Oscar nomination for “Someday My Prince Will Come.” He was nominated for Oscars for scoring The Pride of the Yankees, Johnny Come Lately, and The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. He also composed for television, including series Ben Casey and Disney’s Daniel Boone. His other popular song compositions include “Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee,” “Give a Little Whistle,” and “Jiminy Cricket.”
He died on 10 December 1969, in Long Beach, California, from complications from throat cancer, and is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery. He was inducted into the Disney Legends in 2001.
Follow Leigh Harline
Recent Posts
Nadia Khristean and Colby Ferrin’s Addiction Recovery Message – “Hit Undo”
When some people think of the word “addiction” they perhaps relate it to such things as drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or pornography. However, a dictionary definition of the word paints a much broader picture. Addiction is defined as “the fact or condition of being...
Alex Boyé Encourages Us to Have “A Heart of A Lion”
This author has often said that the easiest way to become defeated in this life is never to try at all. Sometimes in life we are faced with seemingly insurmountable hurdles and instead of trying to get over them, or go around them, we view the obstacles as a roaring...
Monica Scott’s Magnificent Arrangement of “My Heavenly Father Loves Me”
Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who was one of the most influential figures in jazz. The song that is associated with him the most is “What A Wonderful World” which is about appreciating the...
Matthew Caldwell and Madilyn Paige Cover Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds”
Falling in love with someone can perhaps be the most incredible feeling that a person can experience. Love makes the heart sing, and when a person is in love, they picture themselves as being on the top of the world and believe that nothing could ever destroy such...
Sara Lyn Baril – Where Would We Be Without Family?
The home is the place where the word “love” is not a noun, but a verb. The love and compassion that family members have for one another are demonstrated more than just through spoken words. Each member of the family sets love in motion as in their day-to-day familial...
Garth Smith’s Fresh New Arrangements of Christ-Centered Hymns
Garth W. Smith, an LDS musician/pianist who specializes in original arrangements of LDS hymns on the piano, released his third full-length album titled Behold the Great Redeemer, Sacred Hymns, Vol. III on 1 September 2016. The album comprises a collection of familiar...