---
name: "Arthur Johnston"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/arthur-johnston"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "10 January 1898"
died: "1 May 1954"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T11:40:40.640826+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Arthur Johnston

Composer. Born 10 January 1898 in New York City. Died 1 May 1954.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 10 January 1898, New York City
- **Died:** 1 May 1954

## Biography

Arthur Johnston was an American composer, arranger, pianist and conductor. Born in New York City on 10 January 1898, he began his career playing piano in movie houses and worked as an arranger for Irving Berlin before moving to Hollywood in 1929.

He orchestrated and arranged music for films including *City Lights* (1931) and served as music advisor on *Duck Soup* (1933). Johnston wrote songs for several Bing Crosby pictures and collaborated with lyricists Sam Coslow and Johnny Burke; their song "Pennies from Heaven" from the 1936 film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. He also contributed songs to *Song of the South* (1946).

Johnston died in Corona del Mar, California, on 1 May 1954. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Duck Soup* (1933), Fi1m 88, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/duck-soup.md)

## Also known for

- *City Lights* (1931), Music Arranger — [page](https://film.one/film/city-lights.md)
- *Song of the South* (1946), Songs
- *Island of Lost Souls* (1932), Music

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/arthur-johnston