Oliver Wallace facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oliver Wallace
Background information
Born	(1887-08-06)August 6, 1887 London, England, UK
Died	September 15, 1963(1963-09-15) (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, US
Genres	Film score, musical theatre
Occupation(s)	Composer
Years active	1911–63

Oliver George Wallace (born August 6, 1887 – died September 15, 1963) was a talented composer and conductor from England. He was especially known for creating music for many films. He wrote scores for animated movies, documentaries, and other feature films from Walt Disney Studios.

Oliver Wallace's Life and Music

Oliver Wallace was born in London, England, on August 6, 1887. After finishing his music studies, he moved to the United States in 1904. Ten years later, he became an American citizen.

He first worked in Seattle, conducting theater orchestras. He also played the organ for silent films, which were movies without spoken dialogue. At the same time, he became known as a songwriter. One of his popular tunes was "Hindustan." When movies started having sound, he began working more in Hollywood in the 1930s.

Joining Disney Studios

In 1936, Oliver Wallace joined Walt Disney Studios. He quickly became one of their most important composers for animated short films. He wrote music for 139 of these short cartoons!

One of his most famous pieces is the song "Der Fuehrer's Face" from a 1942 Donald Duck cartoon. This cartoon was a propaganda film, meaning it was made to influence people's opinions during World War II. Even though he wasn't credited, this song became a huge hit during the war.

Other famous shorts Wallace scored include Ben and Me (1953), which was about Benjamin Franklin and a mouse. He also scored Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953). This cartoon won an Oscar and was the first cartoon to use the new CinemaScope wide-screen process.

Music for Disney Feature Films

Walt Disney also asked Wallace to compose music for full-length films for over 27 years. He started with Dumbo (1941). For Dumbo, he and Frank Churchill won his first and only Oscar in 1942.

He then went on to score many other classic Disney movies, including:

• Victory Through Air Power (1943)
• The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
• Cinderella (1950) with Paul J. Smith
• Alice in Wonderland (1951)
• Peter Pan (1953)
• Lady and the Tramp (1955)
• White Wilderness (1958)

Wallace was even involved in the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He acted as a live-action model for the animators. He showed them how Dopey and Sneezy danced while stacked on top of each other. He also did the whistling for Ichabod Crane in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

He received four more Oscar nominations for his music. These were for Victory Through Air Power, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and White Wilderness. Many of these films had several composers working together. Wallace was good at weaving musical themes from individual songs into the overall film scores.

Later Work and Legacy

As Disney studios started making more full-length movies, Wallace continued to write scores for them. For Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959), he wrote the score and also set popular songs to music. In Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1959), he even appeared as an actor, playing the conductor of the circus band.

Starting with Seal Island (1948), Wallace also became known for his music for Disney documentaries. This included almost all the films in the "People and Places" series and some of the True-Life Adventures. The music for White Wilderness (1958) was even nominated for an Oscar, which was rare for a documentary film.

Overall, Oliver Wallace contributed music to over 150 Walt Disney productions. He worked for Disney studios for 27 years. He continued working until shortly before his death in Burbank, California, on September 15, 1963, at age 76. In 2008, he was honored with a Disney Legends award, a special recognition given after his death.

Oliver Wallace's Filmography

Oliver Wallace contributed music to many films and animated shorts. Often, he worked with other composers.

Film Scores

• 1941 – Dumbo – Score and some songs
• 1942 – Saludos Amigos – Score
• 1943 – Victory Through Air Power – Score
• 1944 – The Three Caballeros – Score
• 1949 – The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad – Score
• 1950 – Cinderella – Score (part of the music)
• 1951 – Alice in Wonderland – Score
• 1953 – Peter Pan – Score and some songs
• 1955 – Lady and the Tramp – Score (part of the music)
• 1957 – Old Yeller – Score and song
• 1958 – White Wilderness – Score
• 1959 – Darby O'Gill and the Little People – Score and song
• 1963 – The Incredible Journey – Score

Animated Shorts (Selected List)

Oliver Wallace scored a huge number of animated shorts. Here are just a few examples:

Actor Roles

• 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – (live-action model for animators)
• 1949 – The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad – Ichabod Crane's whistling (voice)
• 1960 – Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus – Bandleader (voice)