Louis Alter
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| Louis Alter | |
| Born | June 18, 1902 Haverhill, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 5, 1980 New York, New York |
| Occupation | Songwriter, Composer, Pianist |
| Family | Father of actress Alison Alter |
| Awards | 1941, Academy Award Nomination, Best Original Song, for the song "Dolores" 1936, Academy Award Nomination, Best Original Song, for the song "A Melody From the Sky" |
| IMDb Page | |
Louis Alter (June 18, 1902 - November 5, 1980) was a United States pianist, composer and songwriter. Born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Alter was 13 when he began playing piano in theaters showing silent films.
He toured in vaudeville as accompanist of headliner Nora Bayes from 1924 until her death in 1928. While he had previously written some songs for Broadway shows, Alter decided to concentrate on songwriting after Bayes' death. His first hit was "Manhattan Serenade," originally an instrumental that became the theme music of the popular Easy Aces radio program.
In 1929, Alter moved to Hollywood, where he wrote music for films, beginning with The Hollywood Review of 1929. Alter's other hits include "My Kinda Love," "You Turned the Tables on Me," "Nina Never Knew," "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" (for the 1947 New Orleans), "Blue Shadows" and "Rainbow on the River." He wrote "A Melody for the Sky" and "Twilight on the Trail" for The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936). "Manhattan Serenade" became a hit after Harold Adamson added lyrics to it in 1942. Alter also composed large-scale pieces for piano and orchestra.
In later years, Alter lived in New York and maintained a summer residence on Fire Island. Twice nominated for Academy Awards, he was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1975 and died in New York five years later.
After Hurricane Katrina, his song "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" took on a different kind of meaning in 2005-06 and was used for strong emotional effect in Spike Lee's four-hour When the Levees Broke (2006) and an equally moving dramatic sketch by Billy Crystal on HBO's Comic Relief 2006. The song has experienced a revival due to its use in various post-Katrina documentary films and TV shows.
