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William Lava (1911-1971)

Alias:
Bill Lava
William B. Lava
Wm. Lava

Birthplace:
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Born:
March 18, 1911

Died:
February 20, 1971

Biography from TheMovieDB

William "Bill" Benjamin Lava (March 18, 1911 – February 20, 1971) was a composer and arranger who composed and conducted music for feature films as well as that for the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated cartoons from 1962 to 1969, replacing the deceased Milt Franklyn, making him the last composer and arranger in the classic era of Warner Bros. Cartoons.

Click the heading above to show or hide the text.

Additional information:

The Search Form


Film Production

Additional Music:
1944  Make Your Own Bed
1945  To Have and Have Not

Music:
1938  Billy The Kid Returns
1938  Come On, Leathernecks!
1938  Santa Fe Stampede
1939  The Night Riders
1939  Wyoming Outlaw
1940  Murder in the Air
1941  Nine Lives Are Not Enough
1941  Steel Against the Sky
1941  The Nurse's Secret
1942  Busses Roar
1943  Food and Magic
1943  Happy Times and Jolly Moments
1944  I Am an American
1944  I Won't Play
1944  Make Your Own Bed
1944  Proudly We Serve
1944  The Mummy's Curse
1945  Hitler Lives
1945  So You Think You're Allergic
1945  Star in the Night
1945  Story of a Dog
1945  The Jungle Captive
1945  To Have and Have Not
1946  A Boy and His Dog
1946  Smart as a Fox
1946  The Cat Creeps
1947  Give Us the Earth!
1947  So You Want to Be a Salesman
1947  So You Want to Be in Pictures
1947  So You Want to Hold Your Wife
1947  So You're Going on a Vacation
1947  So You're Going to Be a Father
1948  Calgary Stampede
1948  Embraceable You
1948  Madonna of the Desert
1948  So You Want an Apartment
1948  So You Want to Be a Gambler
1948  So You Want to Build a House
1949  Heart to Heart
1949  Mrs. Mike
1949  The Adventure of the Speckled Band
1949  The Columbia: America's Greatest Power Stream
1950  Colt .45
1950  Grandad of Races
1950  My Country 'Tis of Thee
1950  So You Want a Raise
1950  So You Want to Hold Your Husband
1950  So You Want to Move
1950  The Grass Is Always Greener
1951  Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
1951  Five
1951  So You Want to Be a Plumber
1951  The Strange Door
1951  The Tanks Are Coming
1952  Continental Holiday
1952  So You Never Tell a Lie
1952  So You Want to Enjoy Life
1952  So You Want to Wear the Pants
1952  The Black Castle
1955  24 Hour Alert
1955  Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
1955  So You Want a Model Railroad
1956  Alaska Lifeboat
1956  So You Want to Be Pretty
1956  So Your Wife Wants to Work
1957  The Best Doggoned Dog in the World
1957  The Girl in the Kremlin
1957  The Horse of the West
1958  Flood Tide
1958  Step Down to Terror
1960  Seven Ways from Sundown
1963  Hare-Breadth Hurry
1964  Dumb Patrol
1964  False Hare
1964  Pink Pajamas
1965  An Ounce of Pink
1965  Bully for Pink
1965  Dial 'P' for Pink
1965  Pickled Pink
1965  Pink Ice
1965  Pink Panzer
1965  Reel Pink
1965  Shocking Pink
1965  Sink Pink
1965  The Pink Tail Fly
1965  We Give Pink Stamps
1966  Let's Kill Uncle
1966  Pink Pistons
1966  Pink Punch
1966  Smile Pretty, Say Pink
1966  The Pink Blueprint
1966  Vitamin Pink
1967  Congratulations It's Pink
1968  In Enemy Country
1978  How Bugs Bunny Won the West
1979  The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
1981  The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
1988  Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

Music Director:
1938  Billy The Kid Returns
1938  Come On, Leathernecks!
1938  Santa Fe Stampede
1939  New Frontier
1939  The Night Riders
1939  Wyoming Outlaw
1940  Murder in the Air
1941  Nine Lives Are Not Enough
1941  Steel Against the Sky
1941  The Nurse's Secret
1942  Busses Roar
1943  Food and Magic
1943  Happy Times and Jolly Moments
1944  I Am an American
1944  I Won't Play
1944  Make Your Own Bed
1944  Proudly We Serve
1944  The Mummy's Curse
1945  Hitler Lives
1945  So You Think You're Allergic
1945  Star in the Night
1945  Story of a Dog
1945  The Jungle Captive
1945  To Have and Have Not
1946  A Boy and His Dog
1946  She-Wolf of London
1946  Smart as a Fox
1946  The Cat Creeps
1947  Give Us the Earth!
1947  So You Want to Be a Salesman
1947  So You Want to Be in Pictures
1947  So You Want to Hold Your Wife
1947  So You're Going on a Vacation
1947  So You're Going to Be a Father
1948  Calgary Stampede
1948  Embraceable You
1948  Madonna of the Desert
1948  So You Want an Apartment
1948  So You Want to Be a Gambler
1948  So You Want to Build a House
1949  Heart to Heart
1949  Mrs. Mike
1949  The Adventure of the Speckled Band
1949  The Columbia: America's Greatest Power Stream
1950  Colt .45
1950  Grandad of Races
1950  My Country 'Tis of Thee
1950  So You Want a Raise
1950  So You Want to Hold Your Husband
1950  So You Want to Move
1950  The Grass Is Always Greener
1951  Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
1951  Five
1951  So You Want to Be a Plumber
1951  The Strange Door
1951  The Tanks Are Coming
1952  Continental Holiday
1952  So You Never Tell a Lie
1952  So You Want to Enjoy Life
1952  So You Want to Wear the Pants
1952  The Black Castle
1955  24 Hour Alert
1955  Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
1955  So You Want a Model Railroad
1956  Alaska Lifeboat
1956  So You Want to Be Pretty
1956  So Your Wife Wants to Work
1957  The Best Doggoned Dog in the World
1957  The Girl in the Kremlin
1957  The Horse of the West
1958  Flood Tide
1958  Step Down to Terror
1960  Seven Ways from Sundown
1963  Hare-Breadth Hurry
1964  Dumb Patrol
1964  False Hare
1964  Pink Pajamas
1965  An Ounce of Pink
1965  Bully for Pink
1965  Dial 'P' for Pink
1965  Pickled Pink
1965  Pink Ice
1965  Pink Panzer
1965  Reel Pink
1965  Shocking Pink
1965  Sink Pink
1965  The Pink Tail Fly
1965  We Give Pink Stamps
1966  Let's Kill Uncle
1966  Pink Pistons
1966  Pink Punch
1966  Smile Pretty, Say Pink
1966  The Pink Blueprint
1966  Vitamin Pink
1967  Congratulations It's Pink
1968  In Enemy Country
1978  How Bugs Bunny Won the West
1979  The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
1981  The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
1988  Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

Original Music Composer:
1938  Billy The Kid Returns
1938  Come On, Leathernecks!
1938  Come On, Rangers
1938  Hawk of the Wilderness
1938  Santa Fe Stampede
1938  Tenth Avenue Kid
1938  Western Jamboree
1939  Blue Montana Skies
1939  Daredevils of the Red Circle
1939  Dick Tracy's G-Men
1939  In Old Monterey
1939  Mexicali Rose
1939  Mountain Rhythm
1939  New Frontier
1939  The Lone Ranger Rides Again
1939  The Night Riders
1939  Three Texas Steers
1939  Wyoming Outlaw
1940  A Fugitive from Justice
1940  Adventures of Red Ryder
1940  Gangs of Chicago
1940  Melody Ranch
1940  Murder in the Air
1940  The Courageous Dr. Christian
1941  A Shot in the Dark
1941  Highway West
1941  Law of the Tropics
1941  Nine Lives Are Not Enough
1941  Steel Against the Sky
1941  The Nurse's Secret
1942  Busses Roar
1942  Escape from Crime
1942  I Was Framed
1942  Spy Ship
1942  The Hidden Hand
1943  Food and Magic
1943  Happy Times and Jolly Moments
1943  The Mysterious Doctor
1943  Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer
1943  Women at War
1944  I Am an American
1944  I Won't Play
1944  Make Your Own Bed
1944  Once Over Lightly
1944  Proudly We Serve
1944  The Invisible Man's Revenge
1944  The Mummy's Curse
1945  Hitler Lives
1945  House of Dracula
1945  Secret Agent X-9
1945  So You Think You're Allergic
1945  Star in the Night
1945  Story of a Dog
1945  The Jungle Captive
1945  To Have and Have Not
1946  A Boy and His Dog
1946  She-Wolf of London
1946  Smart as a Fox
1946  The Cat Creeps
1947  Give Us the Earth!
1947  So You Want to Be a Salesman
1947  So You Want to Be in Pictures
1947  So You Want to Hold Your Wife
1947  So You're Going on a Vacation
1947  So You're Going to Be a Father
1948  Calgary Stampede
1948  Embraceable You
1948  Madonna of the Desert
1948  Moonrise
1948  So You Want an Apartment
1948  So You Want to Be a Detective
1948  So You Want to Be a Gambler
1948  So You Want to Build a House
1948  The Big Punch
1949  Flaxy Martin
1949  Heart to Heart
1949  Homicide
1949  Mrs. Mike
1949  The Adventure of the Speckled Band
1949  The Columbia: America's Greatest Power Stream
1949  The House Across the Street
1950  Barricade
1950  Colt .45
1950  Grandad of Races
1950  Highway 301
1950  My Country 'Tis of Thee
1950  So You Think You're Not Guilty
1950  So You Want a Raise
1950  So You Want to Hold Your Husband
1950  So You Want to Move
1950  The Grass Is Always Greener
1950  This Side of the Law
1951  Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
1951  Five
1951  Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison
1951  So You Want to Be a Plumber
1951  The Strange Door
1951  The Tanks Are Coming
1952  Continental Holiday
1952  Retreat, Hell!
1952  So You Never Tell a Lie
1952  So You Want to Enjoy Life
1952  So You Want to Wear the Pants
1952  The Black Castle
1953  Phantom from Space
1954  Saskatchewan
1954  So You Want to Know Your Relatives
1954  Stormy, the Thoroughbred
1955  24 Hour Alert
1955  Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
1955  Cult of the Cobra
1955  Revenge of the Creature
1955  So You Want a Model Railroad
1956  Alaska Lifeboat
1956  Pillars of the Sky
1956  So You Want to Be Pretty
1956  So Your Wife Wants to Work
1957  The Best Doggoned Dog in the World
1957  The Deadly Mantis
1957  The Girl in the Kremlin
1957  The Horse of the West
1958  Flood Tide
1958  Step Down to Terror
1959  Zorro, the Avenger
1960  Hell Bent for Leather
1960  Seven Ways from Sundown
1962  Martian Through Georgia
1963  Chili Weather
1963  Devil's Feud Cake
1963  Fast Buck Duck
1963  Hare-Breadth Hurry
1963  Mad as a Mars Hare
1963  Now Hear This
1963  PT 109
1963  The Million Hare
1963  To Beep or Not to Beep
1963  Transylvania 6-5000
1963  Wall of Noise
1964  A Message to Gracias
1964  Bartholomew Versus the Wheel
1964  Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare
1964  Dumb Patrol
1964  False Hare
1964  Nuts and Volts
1964  Pancho's Hideaway
1964  Pink Pajamas
1964  Señorella and the Glass Huarache
1964  The Iceman Ducketh
1964  The Pink Phink
1965  An Ounce of Pink
1965  Bully for Pink
1965  Corn on the Cop
1965  Dial 'P' for Pink
1965  Pickled Pink
1965  Pink Ice
1965  Pink Panzer
1965  Pinkfinger
1965  Reel Pink
1965  Shocking Pink
1965  Sink Pink
1965  Tease for Two
1965  The Pink Tail Fly
1965  The Wild Chase
1965  We Give Pink Stamps
1966  A-Haunting We Will Go
1966  Chamber of Horrors
1966  Let's Kill Uncle
1966  Pink Pistons
1966  Pink Punch
1966  Smile Pretty, Say Pink
1966  The Pink Blueprint
1966  Vitamin Pink
1967  Congratulations It's Pink
1968  3 Ring Wing-Ding
1968  Big Game Haunt
1968  Bunny and Claude: We Rob Carrot Patches
1968  Chimp & Zee
1968  Chubasco
1968  In Enemy Country
1968  Norman Normal
1969  Bugged by a Bee
1969  Fistic Mystic
1969  Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too!
1969  Shamrock and Roll
1969  The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969  The Great Carrot-Train Robbery
1970  Rabbit, Run
1971  Dracula vs. Frankenstein
1971  O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra
1978  How Bugs Bunny Won the West
1979  The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
1981  The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
1988  Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

Songs:
1938  Billy The Kid Returns
1938  Come On, Leathernecks!
1938  Come On, Rangers
1938  Hawk of the Wilderness
1938  Santa Fe Stampede
1938  Tenth Avenue Kid
1938  Western Jamboree
1939  Blue Montana Skies
1939  Daredevils of the Red Circle
1939  Dick Tracy's G-Men
1939  In Old Monterey
1939  Mexicali Rose
1939  Mountain Rhythm
1939  New Frontier
1939  The Lone Ranger Rides Again
1939  The Night Riders
1939  Three Texas Steers
1939  Wyoming Outlaw
1940  A Fugitive from Justice
1940  Adventures of Red Ryder
1940  Gangs of Chicago
1940  Melody Ranch
1940  Murder in the Air
1940  The Courageous Dr. Christian
1941  A Shot in the Dark
1941  Highway West
1941  Law of the Tropics
1941  Nine Lives Are Not Enough
1941  Steel Against the Sky
1941  The Nurse's Secret
1942  Busses Roar
1942  Escape from Crime
1942  I Was Framed
1942  Spy Ship
1942  The Hidden Hand
1943  Food and Magic
1943  Happy Times and Jolly Moments
1943  The Mysterious Doctor
1943  Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer
1943  Women at War
1944  I Am an American
1944  I Won't Play
1944  Make Your Own Bed
1944  Once Over Lightly
1944  Proudly We Serve
1944  The Invisible Man's Revenge
1944  The Mummy's Curse
1945  Hitler Lives
1945  House of Dracula
1945  Secret Agent X-9
1945  So You Think You're Allergic
1945  Star in the Night
1945  Story of a Dog
1945  The Jungle Captive
1945  To Have and Have Not
1946  A Boy and His Dog
1946  She-Wolf of London
1946  Smart as a Fox
1946  The Cat Creeps
1947  Give Us the Earth!
1947  So You Want to Be a Salesman
1947  So You Want to Be in Pictures
1947  So You Want to Hold Your Wife
1947  So You're Going on a Vacation
1947  So You're Going to Be a Father
1948  Calgary Stampede
1948  Embraceable You
1948  Madonna of the Desert
1948  Moonrise
1948  So You Want an Apartment
1948  So You Want to Be a Detective
1948  So You Want to Be a Gambler
1948  So You Want to Build a House
1948  The Big Punch
1949  Flaxy Martin
1949  Heart to Heart
1949  Homicide
1949  Mrs. Mike
1949  The Adventure of the Speckled Band
1949  The Columbia: America's Greatest Power Stream
1949  The House Across the Street
1950  Barricade
1950  Colt .45
1950  Grandad of Races
1950  Highway 301
1950  My Country 'Tis of Thee
1950  So You Think You're Not Guilty
1950  So You Want a Raise
1950  So You Want to Hold Your Husband
1950  So You Want to Move
1950  The Grass Is Always Greener
1950  This Side of the Law
1951  Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
1951  Five
1951  Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison
1951  So You Want to Be a Plumber
1951  The Strange Door
1951  The Tanks Are Coming
1952  Continental Holiday
1952  Retreat, Hell!
1952  So You Never Tell a Lie
1952  So You Want to Enjoy Life
1952  So You Want to Wear the Pants
1952  The Black Castle
1953  Phantom from Space
1954  Saskatchewan
1954  So You Want to Know Your Relatives
1954  Stormy, the Thoroughbred
1955  24 Hour Alert
1955  Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
1955  Cult of the Cobra
1955  Revenge of the Creature
1955  So You Want a Model Railroad
1956  Alaska Lifeboat
1956  Pillars of the Sky
1956  So You Want to Be Pretty
1956  So Your Wife Wants to Work
1957  The Best Doggoned Dog in the World
1957  The Deadly Mantis
1957  The Girl in the Kremlin
1957  The Horse of the West
1958  Flood Tide
1958  Step Down to Terror
1959  Zorro, the Avenger
1960  Hell Bent for Leather
1960  Seven Ways from Sundown
1962  Martian Through Georgia
1962  Sancho, the Homing Steer
1963  Chili Weather
1963  Devil's Feud Cake
1963  Fast Buck Duck
1963  Hare-Breadth Hurry
1963  Mad as a Mars Hare
1963  Now Hear This
1963  PT 109
1963  The Million Hare
1963  To Beep or Not to Beep
1963  Transylvania 6-5000
1963  Wall of Noise
1964  A Message to Gracias
1964  Bartholomew Versus the Wheel
1964  Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare
1964  Dumb Patrol
1964  False Hare
1964  Nuts and Volts
1964  Pancho's Hideaway
1964  Pink Pajamas
1964  Señorella and the Glass Huarache
1964  The Iceman Ducketh
1964  The Pink Phink
1965  An Ounce of Pink
1965  Bully for Pink
1965  Corn on the Cop
1965  Dial 'P' for Pink
1965  Pickled Pink
1965  Pink Ice
1965  Pink Panzer
1965  Pinkfinger
1965  Reel Pink
1965  Shocking Pink
1965  Sink Pink
1965  Tease for Two
1965  The Pink Tail Fly
1965  The Wild Chase
1965  We Give Pink Stamps
1966  A-Haunting We Will Go
1966  Chamber of Horrors
1966  Let's Kill Uncle
1966  Pink Pistons
1966  Pink Punch
1966  Smile Pretty, Say Pink
1966  The Pink Blueprint
1966  Vitamin Pink
1967  Congratulations It's Pink
1968  3 Ring Wing-Ding
1968  Big Game Haunt
1968  Bunny and Claude: We Rob Carrot Patches
1968  Chimp & Zee
1968  Chubasco
1968  In Enemy Country
1968  Norman Normal
1969  Bugged by a Bee
1969  Fistic Mystic
1969  Rabbit Stew and Rabbits Too!
1969  Shamrock and Roll
1969  The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969  The Great Carrot-Train Robbery
1970  Rabbit, Run
1971  Dracula vs. Frankenstein
1971  O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra
1978  How Bugs Bunny Won the West
1979  The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
1981  The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
1988  Daffy Duck's Quackbusters

Click the heading above to show or hide the list.

TV Production

Music:
1959  The Twilight Zone

Theme Song Performance:
1956  Adventure in Dairyland
1959  The Twilight Zone
????  Corky and White Shadow

Click the heading above to show or hide the list.

About the Movie Section

Most data and links to images for the Movies section come from TheMovieDB (TMDB).

Additional data for Film Titles come from The Open Movie Database (OMDb).

At least one plug-in comes from IMDb.

Data are -- hey, it's a plural -- subject to the limitations of their sources. (For example, TMDB search results currently max out at 20.) I am limiting myself to free data sources for now. (No, a "free trial" is not free.)

While much of the above data are retrieved directly from outside APIs and other such sources, data from American Film Institute (AFI) and British Film Institute (BFI) were manually entered the old fashioned way into a MySQL database. Re BFI I took the following liberties:

  • I added "runners up" to Top 10 lists, treating them as ties where applicable and numbering them accordingly at the bottom of each list.
  • Regarding those polls wherein "franchise" movies were submitted as one project until BFI's policy changed to regard them separately, I treated them as ties and renumbered the affected lists accordingly (e.g. the Godfather films).

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  • If you would like your profile removed from this site, please contact the source of this data directly, TheMovieDB. My assumption is: once it's gone from their site, it should soon be gone from this site.
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Filtering is applied here to film projects flagged as "adult" by TheMovieDB. Pending "popular demand" I am contemplating a login and profile system with preferences (such as whether to allow adult images to appear) and permissions (such as data entry).

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Whether or not he still clings to an award which he won in 1986 as a film critic for his college's newspaper, Jeffrey Hartmann is not responsible for the texts of overviews and biographies supplied by external data sources.