Norman Spencer (composer)

Norman Spencer served as film score composer and director of music for Leon Schlesinger Productions (a company later known as Warner Bros. Cartoons) during the 1930s.

According to articles for The Film Daily published in 1936, Spencer was still serving as composer and director of music for Leon Schlesinger Productions during that year. His job was creating film scores for animated short films in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series produced by Leon Schlesinger. His son Norman, Jr. reportedly handled the musical arrangements for both series.

According to an article of the The Film Daily published on April 29, 1936, Spencer had just completed a three-year contract for the studio and signed a new three-year contract. However, an article published on August 3 of the same year reported that Spencer had resigned and that Carl Stalling was succeeding him as the studio's music director. As noted by blogger and animation historian "Tralfaz", the articles reveal that Schlesinger had already signed a new contract with Spencer, only to hire his replacement a few months later. The reasons for Spencer's resignation are unknown, though "Tralfaz" speculated that the man could have left on his own volition.

According to a story told by voice actor Mel Blanc, Spencer was also the person responsible for hiring voice actors for the studio. Blanc repeatedly requested an audition from the Schlesinger studio. Spencer kept telling him that the studio had no need for new voice actors. One day in 1936, Blanc returned with another request for an audition and found Spencer missing. Spencer was reportedly ill and Treg Brown was filling in for him. Brown finally gave Blanc his audition and hired him.

As noted by film scholar Clifford McCarty in the book Film Composers in America: A Filmography, 1911-1970 (2000), determining who was the composer of a film requires more research than consulting the film's screen credits. Screen credits in the era he researched were not intended to inform the public about who were the creative personnel of the films. Screen credits served largely to establish the importance of an individual to the film industry. In silent films, the composers were rarely credited as the film scores accompanying the film could vary from one movie theater to another. In sound film there was only one score, but most American film studio were initially reluctant to procide music credits to anyone except the songwriters. When the studios granted a credit, they would name the music director of the studio. In theory, the music director was responsible for composing, arranging, and conducting of film music. But the director did not have to personally do all these things. It was still usual in the 1930s for the music department head to be credited or awarded instead of the actual composers.

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