Once Upon a Sleigh Ride
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Peter Rosen
Keith Lockhart
Frederick Fennell
Eleanor Anderson
Skitch Henderson
Dick Cavett
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Documentary profile of American composer Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Anderson was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to musical parents. By age 11, he was enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music, and after he graduated from Harvard, Anderson wrote his first original work, "Jazz Pizzicato," for Arthur Fiedler, conductor of the Boston Pops. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Anderson produced a catalog of popular music, including "The Syncopated Clock," his first nationwide success; "Blue Tango," the biggest hit of 1952; and "Sleigh Ride," which he composed during a heat wave. In 1958, he tried his hand at a Broadway musical, collaborating with writers Walter and Jean Kerr and choreographer Agnes de Mille. The musical, "Goldilocks," starred Don Ameche and Elaine Stritch.