Felix Mills

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Gordon "Felix" Mills (born July 28, 1901, in Fort Collins, Colorado [1] ), was a composer, arranger and conductor during the Golden Age of Radio in the 1930s and 1940s. [2] He was the musical director for The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air, a Disney radio show of the 1930s. [3] Mills created a "gadget band" with wild instruments for Donald Duck to direct on some episodes. [4] [ self-published source ] He also created arrangements for the show. [5]

Mills conducted his own band, and appeared in the Hollywood Bowl. [6] Mills was also the musical director for CBS Radio's Silver Theater from 1937 to 1947. [7] Mills chose to retire rather than fire some band members during the Red Inquisition; [8] he built a home in Morro Bay, California, to pursue his favorite hobbies, sailing and slide photography. Mills died on April 5, 1987, in Morro Bay, California. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Don Rayno (19 December 2012). Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967. Scarecrow Press. pp. 483–. ISBN   978-0-8108-8322-2.
  2. John Dunning (19 March 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio . Oxford University Press. pp.  432–. ISBN   978-0-19-984045-8.
  3. Didier Ghez (8 August 2012). Walt's People: Talking Disney With the Artists Who Knew Him. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 1900–. ISBN   978-1-4771-4790-0.
  4. Didier Ghez (8 August 2012). Walt's People: Talking Disney With the Artists Who Knew Him. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 1897–. ISBN   978-1-4771-4790-0.
  5. The American Harp Journal. American Harp Society. 1981.
  6. Frank Harvey Colby (1940). The Pacific Coast Musician. Colby and Pryibil.
  7. Jocelyn Faris (1 January 1994). Ginger Rogers: A Bio-bibliography. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 163–. ISBN   978-0-313-29177-7.
  8. "The Mickey Mouse Musician"