Ralph Erwin

Ralph Erwin (1896–1943), originally Erwin Vogl, was the Austrian-born French composer of a number of film scores.

Ralph Erwin
Born31 October 1896
Died15 May 1943(1943-05-15) (aged 46)
OccupationComposer

Career

Erwin Vogl was born in Bielitz, in the part of Silesia which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He served in the Austrian Army during the First World War.

After the war, Erwin established himself as a leading German songwriter. He had a great success with I Kiss Your Hand, Madame ("Ich küsse Ihre Hand, Madame"), which featured in the film of the same title of 1929. The song became the signature tune of Richard Tauber.[1] It was prominently used in the 1933 film Baby Face and Bing Crosby also later sang an English version, in The Emperor Waltz (1948)

Erwin was a Jew and, following the Nazi rise to power in 1933, he went into exile in France. There, he continued to work on film scores.

Erwin was still in the country during Nazi Occupation of France and was eventually arrested. He died in the Beaune-la-Rolande internment camp.

Selected filmography

References

  1. Symonette & Kowalke p.221

Bibliography

  • Symonette, Lys & Kowalke, Kim H. Speak Low (When You Speak Love): The Letters of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya. University of California Press, 1997.


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