Albert Hay Malotte was an American musician, composer, organist, pianist, and music educator, who, for Disney, had composed scores for Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony cartoons. Two of the shorts he scored for, Ferdinand the Bull and The Ugly Duckling, each won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject.
Malotte was born in 1895 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Charles and Katherine (Donavon) Malotte. He was in Boy Scouts of America Troop 1, the first Boy Scout troop in Philadelphia which would later inspire him to write a composition of "The Scout's Oath". He graduated from Tioga High School and sang at Saint James Episcopal Church in Philadelphia as a choir boy. He studied with Victor Herbert, W. S. Stansfield, and later in Paris with organist Georges Jacob and began career as an organist in Chicago, where he played for silent pictures, and he later concertized throughout the U.S. and Europe.
During World War II he held the rank of Captain in the Special Services for two years while he toured with the USO and entertained troops in New Guinea, Australia and Europe.
Malotte composed a number of film scores, including mostly uncredited music for films, like Black Magic, Hi, Gaucho!, The Girl from Calgary, The Three Sisters, Such Men Are Dangerous, We're Rich Again, Born Reckless, The Saint in New York, Wise Girl, Song o' My Heart, Texas Masquerade, Riders of the Deadline, The Enchanted Forest, and The Big Fisherman. He was also an orchestrator for Gone with the Wind, and organ player for the films Son of Lassie and Prince of Foxes.
He only well-known work is a musical, lyrical setting to "The Lord's Prayer which he composed in 1935 and was introduced on radio by John Charles Thomas and has remained popular in churches, concerts and recordings. Malotte composed a number of other religious pieces, including settings of "The Beatitudes", the "Twenty-third Psalm", the "Bridal Hymn, "Unto Thee, O Lord", "The "Ninety-First Psalm", and the "Hebrew Prayer". His secular compositions included "For My mother", "I Am Proud to Be An American", "Fiesta en Purchena", The Dreamer, Upstream, "Golfer's Lament", "Heartstrings", "How Shall My Heart Remember?", "Maybe, Perhaps", "Song of the Open Road", "Little White Rose", "Serenade", and "I Pledge My Love to You", which he dedicated to his wife, Marguerite.
He also composed cantatas, oratorios, musicals, and ballets. Malotte owned Apple Valley Music. Malotte died of pneumonia in 1964 and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Cock o' the Walk | composer - uncredited |
| 1935 | Broken Toys | composer - uncredited |
| 1936 | Mickey's Polo Team | composer - uncredited |
| 1936 | Orphans' Picnic | composer - uncredited |
| 1936 | Moving Day | composer - uncredited |
| 1936 | Alpine Climbers | composer - uncredited |
| 1936 | Three Blind Mouseketeers | composer - uncredited |
| 1936 | Mickey's Elephant | composer - uncredited |
| 1937 | Magician Mickey | composer - uncredited |
| 1937 | Little Hiawatha | composer - uncredited |
| 1937 | Lonesome Ghosts | composer - uncredited |
| 1937 | The Moth and the Flame | composer - uncredited |
| 1938 | The Whalers | composer - uncredited |
| 1938 | Brave Little Tailor | composer - uncredited |
| 1938 | Ferdinand the Bull | composer - uncredited songwriter: "Ferdinand the Bull" |
| 1939 | The Ugly Duckling | composer - uncredited |
| 1959 | The Big Fisherman | composer orchestrator - uncredited |