# Marlin Skiles > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Marlin_Skiles > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Marlin_Skiles.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Skiles > Source revision: 1357057476 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American composer This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (March 2026) Marlin Skiles Born December 17, 1906[citation needed] Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States Died May 1, 1981(1981-05-01) (aged 74) San Diego, California United States Other name Marlin Henderson Skiles Occupation Composer Years active 1934–1971 (film) **Marlin Skiles** (December 17, 1906 – May 1, 1981) was an American [composer](/source/Composer) of film and television scores.[1] ## Early years Pianist, arranger and composer Skiles was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in December 1906.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Stiles.[2] He studied music at his local conservatory, later perfecting his training under Ernst Toch in Los Angeles.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] He graduated from [Harrisburg Technical High School](/source/Harrisburg_Technical_High_School) in 1925.[2] ## Career Skiles began his career when he was 17 years old.[2] By the 1920s, he was employed as a pianist, arranger and orchestrator with big name dance bands like those of Paul Whiteman and Irving Aaronson and His Commanders. In Hollywood from 1932,[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] he signed with [Republic Pictures](/source/Republic_Pictures) in 1943[3] was under contract there and at [Columbia Pictures](/source/Columbia_Pictures) (1944–1948), often writing incidental music for second features. He occasionally composed original soundtracks for better productions, like A Thousand and One Nights (1945) or Dead Reckoning (1946). Skiles served as musical director for Columbia's mega-hit *[Gilda](/source/Gilda_(film))* (1946), starring [Rita Hayworth](/source/Rita_Hayworth) in her most famous role. He became a member of [ASCAP](/source/American_Society_of_Composers%2C_Authors_and_Publishers) that same year. Skiles worked as a free-lancer from the 1950s and retired in 1971.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Skiles and his orchestra provided music for the CBS radio program *Crime Correspondent,*[4] and he was music director for the television series *[Death Valley Days](/source/Death_Valley_Days)*.[5] ## Personal life and death Skiles married singer and actress Olive Jones, whose stage name was Olive Cromwell, on July 11, 1936, in Riverside, California.[6] He died of cancer complications on May 1, 1981, in [Rancho Bernardo, San Diego](/source/Rancho_Bernardo%2C_San_Diego), California, aged 75.[5] ## Partial filmography - *[Tahiti Honey](/source/Tahiti_Honey)* (1943) - *[Call of the South Seas](/source/Call_of_the_South_Seas)* (1944) - *[The Lady and the Monster](/source/The_Lady_and_the_Monster)* (1944) - *[A Thousand and One Nights](/source/A_Thousand_and_One_Nights_(1945_film))* (1945) - *[She Wouldn't Say Yes](/source/She_Wouldn't_Say_Yes)* (1945) - *[Rough, Tough and Ready](/source/Rough%2C_Tough_and_Ready)* (1945) - *[Over 21](/source/Over_21)* (1945) - *[Gilda](/source/Gilda_(film))* (1946) - *[The Walls Came Tumbling Down](/source/The_Walls_Came_Tumbling_Down_(film))* (1946) - *[Gallant Journey](/source/Gallant_Journey)* (1946) - *[Dead Reckoning](/source/Dead_Reckoning_(1947_film))* (1947) - *[The Doolins of Oklahoma](/source/The_Doolins_of_Oklahoma)* (1949) (uncredited) - *[The Boy from Indiana](/source/The_Boy_from_Indiana)* (1950) - *[Flat Top](/source/Flat_Top_(film))* (1952) - *[Fort Osage](/source/Fort_Osage_(film))* (1952) - *[The Rose Bowl Story](/source/The_Rose_Bowl_Story)* (1952) - *[Aladdin and His Lamp](/source/Aladdin_and_His_Lamp)* (1952) - *[Rodeo](/source/Rodeo_(1952_film))* (1952) - *[Wild Stallion](/source/Wild_Stallion)* (1952) - *[Wagons West](/source/Wagons_West)* (1952) - *[The Maze](/source/The_Maze_(1953_film))* (1953) - *[Pride of the Blue Grass](/source/Pride_of_the_Blue_Grass_(1954_film))* (1954) - *[Sudden Danger](/source/Sudden_Danger)* (1955) - *[Canyon River](/source/Canyon_River_(film))* (1956) - *[The Young Guns](/source/The_Young_Guns_(film))* (1956) - *[Calling Homicide](/source/Calling_Homicide)* (1956) - *[My Gun Is Quick](/source/My_Gun_Is_Quick_(film))* (1957) - *[The Disembodied](/source/The_Disembodied_(film))* (1957) - *[Man from God's Country](/source/Man_from_God's_Country)* (1958) - *[In the Money](/source/In_the_Money)* (1958) - *[The Beast of Budapest](/source/The_Beast_of_Budapest)* (1958) - *[Cole Younger, Gunfighter](/source/Cole_Younger%2C_Gunfighter)* (1958) - *[Quantrill's Raiders](/source/Quantrill's_Raiders_(film))* (1958) - *[Fort Massacre](/source/Fort_Massacre)* (1958) - *[Queen of Outer Space](/source/Queen_of_Outer_Space)* (1958) - *[Joey Ride](/source/Joy_Ride_(1958_film))* (1958) - *[King of the Wild Stallions](/source/King_of_the_Wild_Stallions)* (1959) - *[The Hypnotic Eye](/source/The_Hypnotic_Eye)* (1960) - *[The Deadly Companions](/source/The_Deadly_Companions)* (1961) - *[Gunfight at Comanche Creek](/source/Gunfight_at_Comanche_Creek)* (1963) - *[The Crawling Hand](/source/The_Crawling_Hand)* (1963) (uncredited) - *[The Strangler](/source/The_Strangler)* (1964) - *[The Shepherd of the Hills](/source/The_Shepherd_of_the_Hills_(1964_film))* (1964) - *[Indian Paint](/source/Indian_Paint_(film))* (1965) - *[Space Probe Taurus](/source/Space_Probe_Taurus)* (1965 - as Marlin Skyles) - *[The Violent Ones](/source/The_Violent_Ones)* (1967) - *[Dayton's Devils](/source/Dayton's_Devils)* (1968) - *[The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler](/source/The_Resurrection_of_Zachary_Wheeler)* (1971) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Gevinson p.350 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-spn_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-spn_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-spn_2-2) Shue, Clyde (June 8, 1952). ["Skiles Climbed Scales To Musical Fame"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-patriot-news-marlin-skiles/192551681/). *Sunday Patriot-News*. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. p. 21. Retrieved March 3, 2026 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Marlin Skiles"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-seattle-star-marlin-skiles/192553005/). *The Seattle Star*. September 13, 1943. p. 12. Retrieved March 3, 2026 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-t_4-0)** ["Radio and Television: C. B. S. Video Network to Offer Tuesdays 'Actor's Studio,' Dropped by A. B. C."](https://www.nytimes.com/1949/10/29/archives/radio-and-television-c-b-s-video-network-to-offer-tuesdays-actors-s.html). *The New York Times*. October 29, 1949. p. 28. Retrieved October 13, 2025. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ta_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ta_5-1) ["Marlin Skiles"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-times-advocate-obituary-for-marlin/192553403/). *Times-Advocate*. California, Escondido. May 4, 1981. p. B 8. Retrieved March 3, 2026 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Marlin Skiles Wedded July 11"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-news-marriage-of-skiles-jo/192554233/). *The Evening News*. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. July 21, 1936. p. 2. Retrieved March 3, 2026 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com). ## Bibliography - Alan Gevinson. *Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960*. University of California Press, 1997. ## External links - [Marlin Skiles](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0804165/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Spain Netherlands Israel Artists Discography of American Historical Recordings Other IdRef Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Marlin Skiles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Skiles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Skiles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.