William Axt - Overview

William Axt (April 19, 1888 – February 13, 1959) was an American composer of nearly two hundred film scores.

Born in New York City, Axt graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx and studied at the National Conservatory of Music of America. He served as an assistant conductor for the Hammerstein Grand Opera Company and was the musical director for the Capitol Theatre in Manhattan before joining the music department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1919. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Chicago in 1922.