Biography and filmography

George Bruns

George Edward Bruns (July 3, 1914 – May 23, 1983) was an American composer of music for film and television. His accolades include four Academy Award nominations and three Grammy Award nominations. He is mainly known for his compositions for numerous Disney films from the 1950s to the 1970s, among them Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Absent-Minded Professor (both 1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967), The Love Bug (1968), The Aristocats (1970), and Robin Hood (1973). In the 1930s he worked as a musician with various groups in the Portland, Oregon area. In 1946 he was appointed musical director at radio station KEX in Portland, Oregon, and also was the bandleader for the Rose Bowl room of the Multnomah Hotel. From 1947 to 1949 he performed and recorded on trombone with Portland's Castle Jazz Band, led by banjoist Monte Ballou.

In the late 1940s he moved to Los Angeles, where he did studio work, and performed and recorded with trombonist Turk Murphy's Jazz Band. In 1953 he was hired by Walt Disney as an arranger, eventually becoming Disney's musical director, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. Despite his retirement he continued to work on Disney projects.

Among his work is the song "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" (which he co-wrote with Xavier Atencio), used in the Disney theme park attraction Pirates of the Caribbean and the movies based on that ride. He also co-wrote "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" with Tom W. Blackburn, as well as the song "Love" for the Disney animated film Robin Hood. During the mid-1950s, he adapted the music from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty ballet for use as background score in the 1959 Disney film version. He also composed the score for The Jungle Book, and provided Herbie the Love Bug with his sprightly theme song, featured prominently throughout the series.

During his tenure with Disney Studios, Bruns continued to play dixieland jazz, leading his Wonderland Jazz Band on two recording sessions, and playing and recording occasionally with the Disney "house" band, the Firehouse Five Plus Two.

Bruns retired from Disney in 1976 and moved back to Sandy, Oregon.He taught part-time at Lewis & Clark College and continued to play and compose music, including recording at least one locally distributed album of jazz.-Wikipedia

Photos

Movies (86)

D.I.Y. Duck

2024 · Music

Michelle Kwan Skates to Disney's Greatest Hits

1999 · Music

Man, Monsters & Mysteries

1974 · Original Music Composer

Herbie Rides Again

1974 · Original Music Composer

Robin Hood

1973 · Lyricist, Original Music Composer

I'm No Fool with Electricity

1973 · Original Music Composer

VD Attack Plan

1973 · Original Music Composer

Snoopy, Come Home

1972 · Music

Michael O'Hara the Fourth

1972 · Original Music Composer

The City Fox

1972 · Original Music Composer

The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove

1971 · Original Music Composer

Three Without Fear

1971 · Music

The Aristocats

1970 · Original Music Composer

The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City

1970 · Music

Dad... Can I Borrow the Car?

1970 · Original Music Composer

Cristobalito, the Calypso Colt

1970 · Original Music Composer

New Girl

1970 · Original Music Composer

It's Tough to Be a Bird

1969 · Music

Inky, the Crow

1969 · Music

Physical Fitness and Good Health

1969 · Original Music Composer

The Social Side of Health

1969 · Original Music Composer

Ride a Northbound Horse

1969 · Original Music Composer