Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Mischa Bakaleinikoff was an American recording director, film composer, and conductor of Russian origin. He was born Mikhail Romanovich Bakaleinikov in Moscow on November 10, 1890. His brothers Konstantin, Nikolai, and Vladimir were also known in music.
In 1914, he conducted the orchestra at the premiere of Sakuntala at the Moscow Chamber Theatre, directed by Alexander Tairov. He emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1926 and arrived in Hollywood in 1931, joining the music department at Columbia Studios.
Bakaleinikoff played double bass and viola in the Columbia Studios orchestra, including for films such as Lost Horizon, before becoming the studio’s musical director in the early 1940s. He wrote music for several dozen films, including Feet First (1930), Ladies of Leisure (1930), Jane Eyre (1934), My Name Is Julia Ross (1945), Just Before Dawn (1946), Batman and Robin (1949), Atom Man vs. Superman (1950), The Big Heat (1953), Gun Fury (1953), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1953), New Orleans Uncensored (1955), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955; uncredited), The Lineup (1958), and The Screaming Woman (1958). His other work included the 1920 song “It’s Hurtful, It’s Annoying…,” with lyrics by Alexander Kusikov.
Bakaleinikoff died in Los Angeles on August 10, 1960. He was survived by his wife, Yvonne Marie Bakaleinikoff, née Wilson; their daughters Victoria Chituni and Annie; and their sons Tony and William.
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