Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 - May 17, 1981) was a German-American film music composer born in San Francisco[1]. Born into a musical family, Friedhofer began playing cello at the age of 13. After taking lessons in harmony and counterpoint at University of California, Berkeley, he was employed as a cellist for the People's Symphony Orchestra. In 1929, he relocated to Hollywood, where he performed as a musician for Fox Studios productions such as Sunny Side Up (1920) and Grand Canary (1934). Later, he was hired as an orchestrator for Warner Bros. and worked on over 50 films for the studio. While at Warners, he largely worked with Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Steiner, in particular, relied on Friedhofer's skill in turning his sketches into a full orchestral score. In 1937, Friedhofer composed his first full-length film score, The Adventures of Marco Polo. Though he still worked as an orchestrator through the 30s and into the 40s, he gradually received more assignments as a composer. In 1942, he composed the score for the film Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas. In 1946, at the behest of Alfred Newman, Friedhofer was hired to compose the score for the 1946 William Wyler directed film, The Best Years of Our Lives, which earned him an Oscar for Best Original Score at the 1947 Academy Awards. A new recording of the score, released in 1979 by Entr'acte Recording Society, was favorably received at the time. Friedhofer was also nominated for other films, including