Dimitri Tiomkin | |
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Dimitri Tiomkin ca. 1930s
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Born |
Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin May 10, 1894 Kremenchuk, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) |
Died | November 11, 1979 London, UK |
(aged 85)
Occupation | Composer |
Years active | 1929–1979 |
Notable work | "High Noon," "Giant" Westerns and drama |
Spouse(s) | Carolina Perfetto (?-?; 1 child) Albertina Rasch (1927-1967; her death) Olivia Cynthia Patch (1972-1979; his death) |
Website | Dimitritiomkin.com |
Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-American film score composer and conductor. Musically trained in Russia, he was best known for his western scores, including Duel in the Sun, Red River, High Noon, The Big Sky, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Last Train from Gun Hill. Tiomkin received twenty-two Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, three for Best Original Score for High Noon, The High and the Mighty, and The Old Man and the Sea, and one for Best Original Song for "The Ballad of High Noon" from the former film.
Dimitri Tiomkin (Russian: Дмитрий Зиновьевич Тёмкин, Dmitrij Zinov'evič Tjomkin, Ukrainian: Дмитро́ Зино́війович Тьо́мкін, Dmytro Zynoviyovyč Tomkin) was born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire.
His family was of Jewish descent; his father Zinovy Tiomkin was a "distinguished pathologist" and associate of Professor Paul Ehrlich, and later a notable Zionist leader. His mother, Marie Tartakovskaya, was a musician who began teaching the young Tiomkin piano at an early age. Her hope was to have her son become a professional pianist, according to Tiomkin biographer, Christopher Palmer. Tiomkin described his mother as being "small, blonde, merry and vivacious."