Photo of Scott Bradley
Sound

Scott Bradley

Profession
Sound
Born
November 26, 1891 · Russellville, Arkansas, USA
Died
April 27, 1977

Biography

Scott Bradley was an American composer, pianist and conductor. He is best remembered for scoring the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) theatrical cartoons, including those starring Tom and Jerry (Hanna-Barbera years 1940-1958, 113 of 114 episodes), Droopy Dog (all 24 episodes), Barney Bear (all 26 episodes), and the many one-shot cartoons. Bradley was a conservatory-trained composer and pianist. In 1934, he began composing for Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising, who were producing cartoon shorts for MGM. After MGM established its own cartoon studio in 1937, Bradley was hired permanently, and he remained with MGM until his retirement in 1957. His early style incorporated fragments of popular and traditional melodies, as was common practice in scores for animation. However, by the late 1940s, Bradley's compositions and orchestrations had become more original and complex, occasionally utilizing the twelve-tone technique devised by Arnold Schoenberg who, along with Bela Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, and Paul Hindemith, influenced Bradley's approach. "Scott writes the most blank-blank-blank difficult fiddle music in Hollywood," concertmaster Lou Raderman was quoted (complaining good-naturedly) in Sight & Sound magazine. "He is going to break my fingers." Bradley expressed considerable pride in his "funny music" and believed scoring for animation offered far more possibilities to the serious composer than live-action films. Bradley retired in 1957 when MGM closed its cartoon department. He died on April 27, 1977 in Chatsworth, California.

Known for

The Cat Concerto poster
The Cat Concerto
Film · 1947 · ★ 7.6
Red Hot Riding Hood poster
Red Hot Riding Hood
Film · 1943 · ★ 7.3
Mouse Trouble poster
Mouse Trouble
Film · 1944 · ★ 7.3
The Two Mouseketeers poster
The Two Mouseketeers
Film · 1952 · ★ 6.8
Quiet Please! poster
Quiet Please!
Film · 1945 · ★ 7.3
The Hollywood Bowl poster
The Hollywood Bowl
Film · 1950 · ★ 7.2
King-Size Canary poster
King-Size Canary
Film · 1947 · ★ 7.0
The Yankee Doodle Mouse poster
The Yankee Doodle Mouse
Film · 1943 · ★ 7.2
Little Rural Riding Hood poster
Little Rural Riding Hood
Film · 1949 · ★ 6.5
The Little Orphan poster
The Little Orphan
Film · 1949 · ★ 7.0
Johann Mouse poster
Johann Mouse
Film · 1953 · ★ 6.9
Heavenly Puss poster
Heavenly Puss
Film · 1949 · ★ 7.5

Filmography