- Leith Stevens was born on September 13, 1909 in Mount Moriah, Missouri, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The War of the Worlds (1953), Destination Moon (1950) and Julie (1956). He was married to Mary McCoy and Elizabeth Stevens. He died on July 23, 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- SpousesMary McCoyElizabeth Stevens(? - July 23, 1970) (her death)
- Suffered a fatal heart attack after being informed that his wife had been killed in an automobile accident.
- American composer and arranger. He studied at Juilliard in the 1920's and first worked as a pianist for the Chicago Opera Company. From 1930, he was arranger/conductor for CBS. By 1938, Stevens fronted a big band for weekly CBS Saturday Night Swing Club broadcasts. In Hollywood from 1939, he worked as composer/arranger, coming more in demand after his composition, "American Rhapsody", achieved concert hall success in 1942.
- Was a co-founder of the Composers and Lyricists Guild of America and served as its president for eight years.
- During World War II, he worked for the Office of War Information as musical director for the organisation's southwest Pacific radio programs.
- As a film composer he was nothing if not versatile. His work ranged from the classical, Sergei Rachmaninoff-inspired "Piano Concerto in C Minor" (performed by Artur Rubinstein with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra) for Night Song (1947) to the swinging jazz scores he created for The Wild One (1953) and Private Hell 36 (1954).
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