Józef Żmigrod (February 23, 1902 – September 10, 1973), better known by his stage name, Allan Gray, was a Polish composer, best known for his film scores.Gray was born Józef Żmigrod in
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Józef Żmigrod (February 23, 1902 – September 10, 1973), better known by his stage name, Allan Gray, was a Polish composer, best known for his film scores. Gray was born Józef Żmigrod in Tarnów, Austria-Hungary, in present-day Poland. He studied under the renowned Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg during the 1920s, and later wrote music for Max Reinhardt's theatre productions. As Schoenberg disapproved of such music, Żmigrod took up the stage name Allan Gray, naming himself after Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray. Gray began writing film scores in the Weimar Republic, but left the country after the rise of Nazi Germany, moving to the United Kingdom and settling down in England. Establishing himself in the British film industry, he composed for London Films and other major studios before joining Powell and Pressburger for many of their films including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Canterbury Tale (1944), I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) and A Matter of Life and Death (1946). Gray died in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK, on September 10, 1973. Gray's "Swing Doors" was featured in the 2008 video game Fallout 3, and was also featured in the documentary The Color of War episode "Victory in Europe" and in an episode of Father Knows Best.
