Biography
Louis De Francesco was an Italian-born American composer, conductor and music director. Educated at the Naples Conservatory, he immigrated to the United States in 1910 and initially worked as a conductor of light operas with touring companies. By the late 1920s he was active in film music, serving as music director for the Famous Players Road Show and later joining Samuel Fox's company as an assistant to composer J. S. Zamecnik.
From 1932 to 1935 he supervised the music department at Fox Movietone and composed or arranged scores for numerous Fox films, including Cavalcade (1933), State Fair (1933), Pardon Us (1931) and Chandu the Magician (1932). He collaborated frequently with Zamecnik and others on synchronised scores during the transition to sound films. De Francesco joined ASCAP in 1930 and composed several popular songs used in films, such as themes associated with Cavalcade.
