Frank Comstock

Comstock had no formal training other than a few trombone lessons, and his junior high school music teacher helped him write his first arrangements for the school dance band. While still in high school, Comstock sold arrangements to local San Diego dance bands.[11] After graduation, Comstock's high school friend, the late trumpeter Uan Rasey, landed a job touring with Sonny Dunham's nationally known dance band. Dunham hired Comstock on Uan's recommendation.[8] When Sonny Dunham's band folded, Dunham's manager recommended Comstock to Benny Carter. Carter, a musician and arranger himself, soon delegated arrangement-related chores to Comstock.[12]

In 1943, Comstock's reputation led to an arranger position with Les Brown and His Band of Renown, which critics claimed was one of the key causes of the band's success.[13][14] Comstock formally left the Brown band in 1947, but he continued to arrange for Les Brown until Brown's death in 2001.

Doris Day and Frank Comstock began a lifelong friendship while working together in Les Brown's band. Day spoke about Comstock in John Tumpak's book When Swing Was the Thing: Personality Profiles of the Big Band Era:

"From day one in Les Brown's band, Frank became my friend. Years and years have passed but Frank and I talk on the phone and laugh a lot. More often than not, we talk about the Les Brown days."[15]

Day left Brown's band in 1946 to pursue a radio and recording career. A few months after settling in Hollywood, Day told Comstock of the rich opportunities in radio, movies, and television. Comstock soon left the Les Brown band to provide arrangements for Doris' first radio gigs: Your Hit Parade and The Rudy Vallee Show. Comstock's arrangements for Doris Day's Warner Brothers screen tests led to a staff arranger/orchestrator position at Warners.[8]

After joining the Warner Brothers staff in 1947 as a freelance arranger/orchestrator/conductor, Comstock quickly adapted his dance band experience to large orchestras. At first, he arranged individual dance numbers for musicals, but he soon began orchestrating and conducting music for major movies. At the peak of his movie career, Comstock had a major role in orchestrating the music for Calamity Jane, The Music Man, Finian's Rainbow, and other major Warner Brothers hits.

Unlike today's independently produced movies where on-screen credits are given to any and all participants, the sparse credits of "big-studio" films of the post-war period were usually limited to famous actors, music composers and studio executives. Even so, Comstock's work for Warner Brothers was notable enough to garner credits for many of his movies.

Gus Levine and Frank Comstock shared the orchestration work for The Music Man, Finian's Rainbow, and other major films. Early in the production of Finian's Rainbow, Levine took ill, leaving Comstock to orchestrate all but a few minor scenes. Even though Finian's Rainbow was nominated for a best-music Oscar, Comstock received no credit for his work.

The table below lists the movies that Comstock helped to arrange, orchestrate and/or conduct:[16]

Working as a freelance arranger for Disney Theme Park Music Director James Christensen,[17] Comstock arranged some of the music heard to this day at Disney Theme Parks.

Comstock's work as arranger and orchestrator for Disney is listed below:[16]

• The Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade
• Tokyo Disneyland opening music
• Walt Disney World Family Concerts
• Disney Street Band - Medleys of Disney film music (all Disney parks)
• Christmas parades (all Disney parks)
• Walt Disney World Candlelight Services

Comstock's work for Disney also included several television specials and a new score for the Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom animated short.

For MPA Productions, Comstock scored four "Mr. Magoo" animated theatrical shorts, including Magoo Express.[18]

The main theme and incidental music for Rocky and His Friends are Comstock's best-remembered compositions,[19] but he also wrote compositions for many of the situation comedy and drama hits of the 1970s and 1980s. Comstock received a 1971 Emmy nomination for his Adam-12 TV score Elegy for a Pig.[2]

Comstock's credits for television series as composer/conductor are listed below:[16]

• Rocky and His Friends
• Adam-12 (all 112 episodes)
• Dragnet (1967, 4 seasons)
• Happy Days (4 seasons)
• Laverne and Shirley (4 seasons)
• Blansky's Beauties
• Ensign O'Toole
• McHale's Navy
• F-Troop
• Pete Kelly's Blues
• The D.A.'s Man
• Temple Houston
• The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour

Comstock's arranging credits for television variety shows are listed below:[16]

• The Bob Hope Show with Les Brown and His Band of Renown (15 years)
• The Steve Allen Show (2 years)
• The Judy Garland Show
• The Andy Williams Show
• The Carol Burnett Show
• The Jimmie Rodgers Show (Music Director)[20]
• The Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor Special

Almost all of Comstock's recordings were originally released on vinyl LPs and singles. Most of them have been reissued on CD and can also be heard on music streaming services.

• List of music arrangers

• Forrest Patten, Journal Into Melody, June 2002 pp. 17–26
• Frank Comstock at IMDb
• Classic Television Themes of the 1950s