Philip Bartholomae
soundtrack, writer
- Birth name:
- Philip Henry Bartholomae
- Born:
- 1880-07-03, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Died:
- 1947-01-05, Winnetka, Illinois, USA
- Professions:
- soundtrack, writer
Biography
Chicago’s South Side greeted Philip Bartholomae on 3 July 1880, and the restless city never left his bloodstream. Between vaudeville houses and smoke-filled newsrooms he learned to spin stories that snapped like flags in a lake gale. By 1916 he had traded newsprint for celluloid, letting the silent thriller “The Serpent” coil itself around moviegoers’ nerves. A year later he stranded audiences “In Arcady,” proving a piano-accompanied dream could still bruise the heart. A dozen years—and dozens of forgotten one-reelers—later, he crowned the talkie era with “Barnum Was Right,” a 1929 carnival of brass bands and sharper elbows that reminded Depression crowds the real trick was surviving the show outside the tent. After the final reel flickered out, Bartholomae withdrew to the quiet tree-lined streets of Winnetka, Illinois, where he died on 5 January 1947, leaving behind a city that once listened when his typewriter sang.
