Schertzinger was born in
Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, the child of musical parents of
Pennsylvania Dutch descent, and attracted attention as a
violin prodigy at the age of four. As a child of eight, he appeared as a violinist with several orchestras, including the
Victor Herbert Orchestra and the
John Philip Sousa band. In his teens, he attended the Brown Preparatory School in
Philadelphia, and gave violin performances while touring America and Europe. Schertzinger studied music at the
University of Brussels. He continued to distinguish himself as a concert violinist, and then as a symphony conductor. He also worked as a songwriter, adding three songs with lyrics by producer
Oliver Morosco to
L. Frank Baum and
Louis F. Gottschalk's
musical,
The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (1914).
ad for world premiere of The Play of Everyman
with music by SchertzingerHis first brush with the film industry came in 1916, when Thomas Ince commissioned him to compose the orchestral accompaniment for his silent film Civilization''. Remaining under Ince's employment, Schertzinger became principal director of the
Charles Ray films, establishing a rapport with Ray that few of the star's other collaborators would ever achieve. After the introduction of sound, Schertzinger continued to direct films but also began to compose songs for them, and in some instances writing scripts or producing as well. Although closely associated with
Paramount Pictures, Schertzinger actually spent the 1930s as a
freelancer. Some of his best films, such as
One Night of Love (
1934) and
The Mikado (
1939) exploited his knowledge of the world of music. His songwriting collaborators during this period also included
Gus Kahn,
Johnny Burke and
Frank Loesser. Schertzinger married Julia E. Nicklin, to whom he remained married until his death. They had two daughters, Patricia and Paula. ==Death and Legacy==