David Tovey

Films and Broadway In 1929, Alter moved to Hollywood, where he wrote songs for films, beginning with The Hollywood Review of 1929, and he continued to provide piano accompaniment for various singers, including Beatrice Lillie and Helen Morgan. His contributions to Broadway musicals included songs in Sweet and Low (1930) and Ballyhoo (1931). His first song hit was "Hugs and Kisses" in 1926. In 1928, Alter composed the music and wrote the lyrics of Paris (1928 musical). Other top tunes by Alter include "My Kinda Love," "You Turned the Tables on Me," "Nina Never Knew," "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" (for the 1947 film New Orleans), "Blue Shadows" and "Rainbow on the River." He wrote "A Melody from the Sky" and "Twilight on the Trail" for The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936). His collaborators included Oscar Hammerstein II, Charlotte Kent, Raymond Klages, Sidney D. Mitchell, and Jo Trent. World War II and later years As a piano soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he performed at the Hollywood Bowl. In 1942, "Manhattan Serenade" once again became a hit after Harold Adamson added lyrics. Alter also composed large-scale pieces for piano and orchestra, including American Serenade and Metropolitan Nocturne. In later years, Alter lived in New York and maintained a summer residence on Fire Island. Awards Twice nominated for Academy Awards ("Dolores," "A Melody from the Sky"), he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. Death He died on November 5, 1980 at age 78, of pneumonia at Saint Clare's Hospital in Manhattan, New York City. Hurricane Katrina After Hurricane Katrina, his song "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" took on a different kind of meaning in 2005–06 and experienced a revival due to its use in various post-Katrina documentary films and TV shows. It was used for strong emotional effect in Spike Lee's four-hour When the Levees Broke (2006) and an equally moving dramatic sketch by Billy Crystal on HBO's Comic Relief 2006.