Hugo Ferdinand Winterhalter was born in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States, on August 15, 1909, He graduated from
Mount St. Mary's in
Emmitsburg, Maryland, Winterhalter penned the main title theme for the film,
Diamond Head (1962). His other motion picture credits include work as conductor and arranger for
Eddie Fisher and
Debbie Reynolds in the 1956 musical comedy,
Bundle of Joy, and orchestrator for
Thrill of a Romance (1945) and
Meet the People (1944). Winterhalter remained with RCA Victor until 1963, at which time he moved to
Kapp. Winterhalter recorded a handful of albums for Kapp including ''The Best of '64
and its follow-up, The Big Hits of 1965'', before leaving the label to work on
Broadway. He later worked in television and continued recording the occasional
LP for various budget labels. Winterhalter's last US chart single was "Theme From 'Popi'", released by
Musicor in 1969. It reached #35 in the Billboard Easy Listening Top 40. Winterhalter died from cancer, in
Greenwich, Connecticut on September 17, 1973. He is interred alongside his wife at Rockland Cemetery in
Sparkill, New York. Winterhalter had a son, Hugo Francis Winterhalter, who was killed in Vietnam on December 29, 1966. He was with the 169th Combat Engineer Battalion. ==Musical style==