Henri René

American musician who had an international career in the recording industry as a producer, composer, conductor and arranger. Born Harold Manfred Kirchstein in New York City 1906-1993. Of a German father and French mother, he studied at [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_University_of_the_Arts]Royal Berlin Academy of Music[/url].As instrumentalist, Rene played the piano, saxophone, and Musette accordion. Returning to the U.S. in the mid-1920's, he began appearing with several orchestras. In the 1930's, back in Berlin, he worked as a composer in the German film industry, an arranger with a German record label, & was appointed musical director of the two largest moving picture firms in Europe, [l=Tobis] and [l=Ufa]. 1936, he returned to the U.S., to accept the position of musical director with RCA-Victor's international arm. Forming his own orchestra in 1941, with great success, he served with the Allies in World War II. Post-war, he resumed working for RCA Victor as a conductor and arranger. With successful LP's in the '50's, TV theme composition, & production work, he left RCA in 1959 as a freelance artist for the remainder of his career. For his contributions to the recording industry, René has a Star at 1610 Vine Street on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [born]: December 29, 1906 New York City, New York, U.S.A. [died]: April 25, 1993 Houston, Texas, U.S.A.