{{short description|American music director and orchestra conductor}} {{For|the fictional character|Harry (British TV series)}} {{Infobox person | name = Harry Salter | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth year|1899}} | birth_place = New York, USA | death_date = {{death date|1984|03|05}} (aged 85) | death_place = Mamaroneck, New York | education = | spouse = Roberta Semple Salter | children = 1 | module = {{Infobox military person | embed = yes | allegiance = United States | battles = World War II | rank = Captain | branch = Special Services Division }}}} '''Harry Salter''' (1899 – March 5, 1984)<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=1984-03-07 |title=Harry Salter, Led Orchestra |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/07/obituaries/harry-salter-led-orchestra.html |access-date=2024-08-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> was an American music director and an orchestra conductor for radio and television programs. One of Salter's radio orchestras in the late 1920s had as members Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa and Jack Teagarden.

==Radio and television== Salter led the orchestra for ''Your Unseen Friend'',<ref>Grunwald, Edgar A., Ed. (1938). ''Variety Radio Directory 1938-1939''. Variety, Inc. P. 384.</ref> ''Mr. District Attorney'',{{r|grunwald|page1=316}} ''Honolulu Bound'',{{r|grunwald|page1=302}} ''What's My Name?'',<ref name="grunwald">Grunwald, Edgar A., Ed. (1940). ''Variety Radio Directory 1940-1941''. Variety, Inc. P. 343.</ref> ''Hobby Lobby'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Page Dave Elman|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Radio-Stars-IDX/IDX/Radio-Stars-1938-12-OCR-Page-0036.pdf|accessdate=19 August 2016|work=Radio Stars|date=December 1938|page=56}}{{dead link|date=May 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ''Pot o' Gold''<ref>{{cite news|title=(photo caption)|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Radio-Life-IDX/IDX/Radio-Life-1947-03-23-OCR-Page-0034.pdf|accessdate=19 August 2016|work=Radio Life|date=March 23, 1947}}{{dead link|date=May 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and ''Harry Salter and His Band Box Revue'', a series of transcribed<ref>{{cite news|title=Station Accounts|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/33-OCR/1933-01-01-BC-OCR-Page-0020.pdf|access-date=17 August 2016|work=Broadcasting|date=January 1, 1933|page=20}}</ref> syndicated programs that were "placed on various stations."<ref>{{cite news|title=(untitled brief)|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/33-OCR/1933-01-15-BC-OCR-Page-0022.pdf|access-date=17 August 2016|work=Broadcasting|date=January 15, 1933|page=22}}</ref>

Salter created ''Name That Tune'' and was co-producer of ''Stop the Music''.<ref name="rg">{{cite book|last1=Hoerschelmann|first1=Olaf|title=Rules of the Game: Quiz Shows And American Culture|date=2006|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791481523|page=28|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-WEla4HyFZwC&dq=Harry+Salter&pg=PA28|accessdate=17 August 2016|language=en}}</ref> (Another source credits Salter as being the creator of ''Stop the Music''.)<ref>{{cite news|title=Cowan-Packaged Show Starts on ABC in March|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/48-OCR/1948-02-02-BC-OCR-Page-0020.pdf|access-date=19 August 2016|work=Broadcasting|date=February 2, 1948|page=20}}</ref>

He was the orchestra leader for such radio shows as the ''Hit Parade'', ''Your Unseen Friend'', ''Philco Show'', ''Musical Grocery Store'', and ''Hobby Lobby''. He also conducted for performers such as Lanny Ross and Milton Berle.

Salter was also the creator, executive producer and orchestra conductor for the TV show ''Name That Tune'' from 1952 to 1959, and was the creator and musical director of ''Stop the Music'' on both radio and television, which was broadcast on radio from 1948 to 1949<ref name=tottel>Alex McNeil, "Stop the Music", ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present,'' 4th ed., New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 792</ref> and became a one-hour TV show on ABC from May 1949 to April 1952, then came back again as a half-hour show from September 7, 1954, to June 14, 1956.

==Military service== During World War II, Salter was a captain in the U.S. Army's Special Services Division. His responsibilities included being music director for the radio program ''The Army Service Forces Present'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Army Show Changes|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/43-OCR/1943-09-06-BC-OCR-Page-0039.pdf|access-date=19 August 2016|work=Broadcasting|date=September 6, 1943|page=39}}</ref> and later he headed the musical production section of the Special Service Forces.<ref>{{cite news|title=Distribution of Radio Sets To Troops Needs Expanding|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/45-OCR/1945-08-13-BC-OCR-Page-0026.pdf|access-date=19 August 2016|work=Broadcasting|date=August 13, 1945|page=26}}</ref>

==Personal life== Salter was born in New York. He had two brothers, Louis and Bert, and a sister named Sylvia Werner. He was married to Roberta Semple Salter. The two later developed many musical shows on television. The couple had one daughter, Victoria. He died in a nursing home in Mamaroneck, New York at the age of 85.<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Salter, Harry}} Category:American music directors Category:1899 births Category:1984 deaths Category:Musicians from New York City Category:20th-century American people