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Herbert W. Spencer is a Orchestrator Chilien born on 7 april 1905

Herbert W. Spencer

Herbert W. Spencer
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Birth name Herbert Winfield Spencer
Nationality Chili
Birth 7 april 1905
Death 18 september 1992 (at 87 years) at Culver City (USA)

Herbert Winfield Spencer (April 7, 1905 - September 18, 1992) was a film and television composer and orchestrator.

Spencer gained industry fame when he teamed up with fellow 20th Century Fox orchestrator Earle Hagen in 1953 to create the Spencer-Hagen Orchestra. They recorded albums for an offshoot of the RCA label "X", and Liberty, and also formed a film scoring service called Music Scoring, Inc. (MSI). Spencer and Earle scored many early sitcoms and other television shows, including Where's Raymond?, renamed the The Ray Bolger Show, It's Always Jan starring Janis Paige, My Sister Eileen and The Danny Thomas Show. Earle wrote the underscore, while Herb wrote the arrangements. Occasionally, these chores overlapped, when time permitted. MSI was dissolved about 1960, and Herb went on to score The Joey Bishop Show. Spencer is also remembered for co-writing "The Fishin' Hole", The Andy Griffith Show theme.

Spencer also helped orchestrate such noted film musicals as Carousel (1956), Holiday Inn (1942), Hello, Dolly! (1969), Funny Girl (1968), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and Call Me Madam (1953), and received the credit "musical associate" for his work on the film Man of La Mancha (1972), also a musical. [1]

Later on in life, Spencer was known mostly for his collaborations with composer John Williams as orchestrator and arranger (from 1967 until his death) for many of his film scores, such as the original Star Wars trilogy, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and the Indiana Jones film series.

He orchestrated the stage musicals Thomas And The King (for John Williams) and Andre Previn's The Good Companions. Neither show was a success.

Spencer was also principal orchestrator for the original version of Clash of the Titans (1981).[2]

Best films

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
(Orchestrator)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
(Orchestrator)
Home Alone (1990)
(Orchestrator)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
(Orchestrator)
Superman (1978)
(Orchestrator)
The Towering Inferno (1974)
(Orchestrator)

Usually with

Thomas Little
Thomas Little
(23 films)
Roger Heman Sr.
Roger Heman Sr.
(21 films)
Lyle Wheeler
Lyle Wheeler
(18 films)
Ben Nye
Ben Nye
(18 films)
Fred Sersen
Fred Sersen
(13 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Herbert W. Spencer (48 films)

Display filmography as list

Sound

Home Alone
Home Alone (1990)
, 1h37
Directed by Chris Columbus
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Films about animals, Christmas films, Films about spiders, Children's films
Actors Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, Roberts Blossom
Roles Orchestrator
Rating76% 3.8477953.8477953.8477953.8477953.847795
The night before their flight to Paris for a Christmas holiday, the McCallister family gather at the Winnetka, Illinois home of Peter (John Heard) and Kate (Catherine O'Hara) McCallister. Their 8-year-old son, Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), is ridiculed by his siblings and cousins. After a fight with his older brother, Buzz (Devin Ratray), Kevin is sent to the third floor of the house, where he wishes that his family would disappear. During the night, a power outage resets the alarm clocks and causes the family to oversleep. In the confusion and rush to reach their flight on time, Kevin is left behind and the family is unaware until they are already airborne. Once in Paris, Peter and Kate try to book a flight home, but all the flights are booked for the next two days. The clerks put Kate on standby for any possible seat opening. The rest of the family goes to Peter's brother's home in Paris, and Kevin's siblings and cousins are crushed by empathy for their abuse toward Kevin.
The Witches of Eastwick, 1h58
Directed by George Miller
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Themes Feminist films, Films about magic and magicians, Films about religion, Demons in film, Witches in film, Political films, Comedy horror films, Buddy films
Actors Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Veronica Cartwright, Richard Jenkins
Roles Orchestrator
Rating64% 3.2499453.2499453.2499453.2499453.249945
Alexandra Medford (Cher), Jane Spofford (Susan Sarandon), and Sukie Ridgemont (Michelle Pfeiffer) are three dissatisfied women living in the picturesque town of Eastwick, Rhode Island. Alex is a sculptor and single mother of one daughter; Jane is a newly divorced music teacher unable to have children; while Sukie has six daughters and works as a columnist for the Eastwick Word. The three friends have all lost their husbands (Alex's died, Jane's divorced her, and Sukie's abandoned her). Unaware that they are witches, the women unwittingly form a coven where they have weekly get-togethers and share their fantasies about ideal men.
Return to Mayberry, 1h35
Directed by Bob Sweeney
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romance
Actors Ron Howard, Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Howard Morris, Jim Nabors, George Lindsey
Roles Music
Rating68% 3.4273953.4273953.4273953.4273953.427395
Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith), now a US Postal Inspector, returns to his hometown of Mayberry, North Carolina with wife Helen (Aneta Corsaut)—whom he had married in 1968, on the sequel series Mayberry R.F.D.—but without his second-born son Andy, Jr. (christened on R.F.D.). Andy returns to Mayberry to see son Opie (Ron Howard) into fatherhood. Also, Andy plans to run in the soon-to-be held sheriff's election, as he has already asked county clerk Howard Sprague to prepare the paperwork. Andy puts aside any thoughts of running when he learns that his old deputy and cousin, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), left Raleigh, and was appointed acting sheriff. Barney intends to win the elected position outright. However, the citizens question the easily riled Barney's sanity when he falls for a commercial ploy touting a Myer's Lake monster. Meanwhile, Opie ponders moving his family out of Mayberry to expand his journalism career.
Return to Oz, 1h53
Directed by Walter Murch
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Adventure
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Monde imaginaire, Le pays d'Oz, Witches in film, Children's films, Robot films
Actors Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Brian Henson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, Seán Barrett
Roles Orchestrator
Rating66% 3.3498353.3498353.3498353.3498353.349835
In October 1899, six months after returning home from the Land of Oz, Dorothy Gale has become melancholic. Her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry take her to Dr. Worley, known for his electrotherapy treatments, and leave her under the care of Nurse Wilson. During a thunderstorm, the lab suffers a blackout and Dorothy is saved by a mysterious girl. They escape with Nurse Wilson in pursuit, and fall into a river. Dorothy clambers aboard a chicken coop, but the other girl appears to have vanished underwater.
The River
The River (1984)
, 1h59
Directed by Mark Rydell
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about the labor movement
Actors Sissy Spacek, Mel Gibson, Scott Glenn, Billy "Green" Bush, James Tolkan, Frank Hoyt Taylor
Roles Orchestrator
Rating62% 3.1489753.1489753.1489753.1489753.148975
Mae et Tom Garvey - jeune couple d'agriculteurs - sont confrontés, comme nombre de leurs collègues, aux difficultés de survie des fermes familiales indépendantes. C'est l'affrontement avec les autorités locales qui voudraient racheter les terres, par l'intermédiaire de Joe Wade (ancien ami de Mae) ; de plus, les fermiers subissent des inondations catastrophiques. Pour gagner un peu d'argent, Tom accepte un travail au loin, en usine...
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1h55
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure
Themes Films about children, Films about extraterrestrial life, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Erika Eleniak, Debra Winger
Roles Orchestrator
Rating78% 3.945323.945323.945323.945323.94532
In a California forest, a group of alien botanists collect flora samples. When government agents appear on the scene, they flee in their spaceship, leaving one of their own behind in their haste. The scene shifts to a suburban home, where a 10-year-old boy named Elliott is trying to spend time with his 15-year-old brother, Michael, and his friends. As he returns from picking up a pizza, he discovers that something is hiding in their tool shed. The creature promptly flees upon being discovered. Despite his family's disbelief, he leaves Reese's Pieces candy to lure it to his bedroom. Before he goes to sleep, he realizes it is imitating his movements. He feigns illness the next morning to stay home from school and play with it. Later that day, Michael and their five-year-old sister, Gertie, meet it. They decide to keep it hidden from their mother, Mary. When they ask it about its origin, it levitates several balls to represent its solar system and then demonstrates its powers by reviving a dead chrysanthemum.
Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1h55
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Origin USA
Genres Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Films set in Africa, Political films, Children's films
Actors Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott
Roles Orchestrator
Rating79% 3.980553.980553.980553.980553.98055
In 1936, archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) braves an ancient booby-trapped temple in Peru and retrieves a golden idol. He is confronted by rival archaeologist René Belloq (Paul Freeman) and the indigenous Hovito people. Surrounded and outnumbered, Jones is forced to surrender the idol to Belloq and escapes aboard a waiting floatplane.
Clash of the Titans, 1h58
Directed by Desmond Davis
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Horror, Peplum, Romance
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Films based on mythology, Giant monster films, Films based on Greco-Roman mythology, Dans la Grèce mythologique, Children's films, Robot films, Disaster films, Films based on Greco-Roman mythology
Actors Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Judi Bowker, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, Burgess Meredith
Roles Orchestrator
Rating68% 3.449833.449833.449833.449833.44983
King Acrisius of Argos (Donald Houston) imprisons his daughter Danaë (Vida Taylor), jealous of her beauty. When the god Zeus (Laurence Olivier) impregnates her, Acrisius sends his daughter and his newborn grandson Perseus to sea in a wooden coffin. In retribution, Zeus kills Acrisius and orders Poseidon (Jack Gwillim) to release the last of the Titans, a gigantic sea monster called the Kraken, to destroy Argos. Meanwhile, Danaë and Perseus safely float to the island of Seriphos, where Perseus grows to adulthood.
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, 1h37
Directed by Clive Donner, Paul Baxley
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Comedy thriller
Actors Peter Ustinov, Brian Keith, Michelle Pfeiffer, Richard Hatch, Lee Grant, Angie Dickinson
Roles Orchestrator
Rating40% 2.019922.019922.019922.019922.01992
Retired detective Charlie Chan is asked for his help by the San Francisco police to solve a new series of murders. But this time his usual sidekick, Number One Son, has been replaced by Lee's own son, Lee Chan, Jr.
The Empire Strikes Back, 2h4
Directed by Irvin Kershner
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Action, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Monde imaginaire, Dans l'espace, Sur une planète fictive, Films about extraterrestrial life, Films about disabilities, Space opera, Children's films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Robot films
Actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse
Roles Orchestrator
Rating84% 4.2065054.2065054.2065054.2065054.206505
Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance has been driven from their former base on Yavin IV by the Galactic Empire. Princess Leia leads a contingent including Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in a new base on the icy planet Hoth. The Imperial Fleet, led by Darth Vader, continues to hunt for Rebels’ new base by dispatching probe droids across the galaxy.
Superman
Superman (1978)
, 2h17
Directed by Richard Donner, John Glen
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Films about children, Time travel films, Superman films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper, Ned Beatty
Roles Orchestrator
Rating73% 3.69743.69743.69743.69743.6974
On the planet Krypton, using evidence provided by scientist Jor-El, the Ruling Council sentences three attempted insurrectionists, General Zod, Ursa, and Non, to "eternal living death" in the Phantom Zone. Despite his eminence, Jor-El is unable to convince the Council of his belief that Krypton will soon be destroyed when its sun explodes. To save his infant son, Kal-El, Jor-El launches a spacecraft containing him toward Earth, a distant planet with a suitable atmosphere, and where Kal-El's dense molecular structure will give him superhuman powers. Shortly after the launch, Krypton is destroyed.
Black Sunday, 2h23
Directed by John Frankenheimer, Marc Monnet
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Sports films, Films about terrorism, Transport films, Aviation films, American football films, Disaster films, American disaster films
Actors Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller, Fritz Weaver, Bekim Fehmiu, Steven Keats
Roles Orchestrator
Rating67% 3.3985453.3985453.3985453.3985453.398545
Michael Lander is a pilot who flies the Goodyear Blimp over National Football League games to film them for network television. Secretly deranged by years of torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he had a bitter court martial on his return and a failed marriage. He longs to commit suicide and to take with him as many as possible of the cheerful, carefree American civilians he sees from his blimp each weekend.
The Towering Inferno, 2h45
Directed by Irwin Allen, John Guillermin
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Disaster, Action
Themes La fin du monde, Films about the labor movement, Children's films, Disaster films, American disaster films
Actors Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely
Roles Orchestrator
Rating69% 3.4998153.4998153.4998153.4998153.499815
Architect Doug Roberts (Newman) returns to San Francisco for the dedication of the Glass Tower, which he designed for owner James Duncan (Holden). At 138 stories (1,800 ft/550 m), it is the world's tallest building. Shortly after his arrival, an electrical short starts an undetected fire on the 81st floor while Roberts accuses the building's electrical engineer, Roger Simmons (Chamberlain), of cutting corners. Simmons insists the building is up to standards.
Jesus Christ Superstar, 1h48
Directed by Norman Jewison
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Historical, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Films about religion, Théâtre, Musical films, Films based on the Bible, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals, Portrayals of Jesus in film
Actors Ted Neeley, Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen, Josh Mostel, Paul Thomas, Robert LuPone
Rating73% 3.6965153.6965153.6965153.6965153.696515
The film is framed as a group of performers who travel to the desert to re-enact the Passion of Christ. The film begins with them arriving on a bus, assembling their props, and getting into costume. One of the group (Neeley) is surrounded by the others, puts on a white robe, and emerges as Jesus Christ.
Scrooge
Scrooge (1970)
, 2h
Directed by Ronald Neame
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Christmas films, Time travel films, Ghost films, Musical films
Actors Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth More, Michael Medwin, Laurence Naismith
Roles Assistant Music Supervisor
Rating74% 3.7459353.7459353.7459353.7459353.745935
Ebenezer Scrooge (Albert Finney) is a cold-hearted and greedy old miser whose only concern is money and profit and hates everything to do with Christmas. After Scrooge scares off a group of boys who were singing a carol outside his door, his nephew Fred (Michael Medwin) arrives to invite him to Christmas dinner with his wife and friends. Scrooge, however, refuses. After Fred leaves, Scrooge gives his clerk Bob Cratchit (David Collings) the next day off as it is Christmas, but he expects him back all the earlier the next morning. Bob meets two of his children, including Tiny Tim (Richard Beaumont), in the streets, and they buy the food for their Christmas dinner. Scrooge, meanwhile, is surveyed by two other men (Derek Francis and Roy Kinnear) for a donation for the poor but Scrooge refuses to support the prisons and workhouses and even says "if they rather die, then they better do it and decrease the surplus population." On his way home, Scrooge meets some of his clients, including Tom Jenkins (Anton Rogers), and reminds them the debts they owe him. In a running gag, Scrooge is stalked and being made fun of by the same street urchins seen at the start of the film, calling him "Father Christmas.