Harry Salter

For the fictional character, see Harry (British TV series).
Harry Salter
Born1899 (1899)
New York, USA
Died(1984-03-05)March 5, 1984 (aged 85)
Mamaroneck, New York
SpouseRoberta Semple Salter
Children1
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchSpecial Services Division
RankCaptain
Battles / warsWorld War II

Harry Salter (1899 – March 5, 1984)[1] was an American music director and an orchestra conductor for radio and television programs. One of Salter's radio orchestras in the late 1920s had as members Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa and Jack Teagarden.

Radio and television

Salter led the orchestra for Your Unseen Friend,[2] Mr. District Attorney,[3]: 316  Honolulu Bound,[3]: 302  What's My Name?,[3] Hobby Lobby,[4] Pot o' Gold[5] and Harry Salter and His Band Box Revue, a series of transcribed[6] syndicated programs that were "placed on various stations."[7]

Salter created Name That Tune and was co-producer of Stop the Music.[8] (Another source credits Salter as being the creator of Stop the Music.)[9]

He was the orchestra leader for such radio shows as the Hit Parade, Your Unseen Friend, Philco Show, Musical Grocery Store, and Hobby Lobby. He also conducted for performers such as Lanny Ross and Milton Berle.

Salter was also the creator, executive producer and orchestra conductor for the TV show Name That Tune from 1952 to 1959, and was the creator and musical director of Stop the Music on both radio and television, which was broadcast on radio from 1948 to 1949[10] and became a one-hour TV show on ABC from May 1949 to April 1952, then came back again as a half-hour show from September 7, 1954, to June 14, 1956.

Military service

During World War II, Salter was a captain in the U.S. Army's Special Services Division. His responsibilities included being music director for the radio program The Army Service Forces Present,[11] and later he headed the musical production section of the Special Service Forces.[12]

Personal life

Salter was born in New York. He had two brothers, Louis and Bert, and a sister named Sylvia Werner. He was married to Roberta Semple Salter. The two later developed many musical shows on television. The couple had one daughter, Victoria. He died in a nursing home in Mamaroneck, New York at the age of 85.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Harry Salter, Led Orchestra". The New York Times. 1984-03-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  2. ^ Grunwald, Edgar A., Ed. (1938). Variety Radio Directory 1938-1939. Variety, Inc. P. 384.
  3. ^ a b c Grunwald, Edgar A., Ed. (1940). Variety Radio Directory 1940-1941. Variety, Inc. P. 343.
  4. ^ "Page Dave Elman" (PDF). Radio Stars. December 1938. p. 56. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  5. ^ "(photo caption)" (PDF). Radio Life. March 23, 1947. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Station Accounts" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 1, 1933. p. 20. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  7. ^ "(untitled brief)" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 15, 1933. p. 22. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  8. ^ Hoerschelmann, Olaf (2006). Rules of the Game: Quiz Shows And American Culture. SUNY Press. p. 28. ISBN 9780791481523. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Cowan-Packaged Show Starts on ABC in March" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 2, 1948. p. 20. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  10. ^ Alex McNeil, "Stop the Music", Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present, 4th ed., New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 792
  11. ^ "Army Show Changes" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 6, 1943. p. 39. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Distribution of Radio Sets To Troops Needs Expanding" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 13, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved 19 August 2016.