Biography
Oct. 8, 1913, New York City - Aug. 28, 1958, Minnepolis
Walter Schumann is most famous for four notes - the four notes which introduced the long-running TV series, "Dragnet." Actually, Schumann wrote the entire theme, which won him an Emmy in 1955. Most of Schumann's other TV and movie work has been forgotten.
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Schumann left USC's Law School to turn his college dance band into a full-time success. The band did not last, but Schumann's stay in the music business did. Before World War II, Schumann worked with the likes of Eddie Cantor and Andre Kostelanetz. During World War II, he became the musical director of the Armed Forces Radio Service.
After the War, between his work for the studios, Schumann pursued a love of choral music. He collaborated on the Broadway productions of "John Brown's Body and appeared with The Voices of Walter Schumann during the first season of "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show."
Schumann died due to complications from one of the first open-heart surgeries in the U.S.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.