Biography
Heinz Eric Roemheld (1901–1985) was an American composer of film music. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he studied at the Milwaukee College of Music and later in Berlin with Hugo Kaun, Ferruccio Busoni and Egon Petri. He performed as a pianist with the Berlin Philharmonic before returning to the United States, where he worked as a pianist and conductor for silent films.
In 1925 Roemheld was appointed head of Universal Pictures theatres in Berlin, but left in 1929. He then moved to Los Angeles and scored more than 400 films. His credits include The Invisible Man (1933), The Black Cat (1934), The Roaring Twenties (1939), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), for which he shared an Academy Award, The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and Ride Lonesome (1959). He also composed the song "Ruby" from Ruby Gentry (1952).
After the Second World War he served briefly as Chief of the Film, Theatre and Music Section of the Information Control Division of the American forces in Europe. He continued studio work until the late 1950s and retired in 1964.
