Leith Stevens

Film and television composer Leith Stevens remains best known for his score to the Marlon Brando classic The Wild One. Born in Mount Moriah, Missouri on September 13, 1909, Stevens was a child prodigy who by the age of 11 was playing professionally behind Kansas City-area vocalists, making his debut as conductor by 16. Awarded a Julliard Foundation Fellowship in 1927, he relocated three years later to serve as the pianist with the Chicago Opera Company before returning to New York City to work as an arranger with CBS Radio. Stevens migrated to Hollywood in 1939 to compose and ...