DIMITRI ZINOVIEVICH TIOMKIN was one of six US composers to be given the title of “Legend of American Music”. A record-holder for the number of Oscars that were received over a period of time, a Commander of the Legion of Honor (France) and of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain).
Dmytro Tiomkin with a US general.
“ORGASM MELODY”
The meticulous producer David Selznick ordered 11 tunes for his film “Duel in the Sun” (1946). Six composers came forward: appearing in the work of such a prominent artist would guarantee a successful career. But then an unprecedented scandal happened: the producer dismissed each composer, one by one. The stumbling block was Selznik’s demand for an “orgasm melody”. Selznick wanted the kind of music in a movie that one would enjoy no less than sex. And then he was introduced to Tiomkin, who agreed to try his luck without hesitation.
“An orgasm?” asked Tiomkin.
– “How do you imagine it?”
“Think of something,” Selznick replied.
The composer worked hard with the notes for several months. At the last moment, he added forty drummers and a hundred choirs to his “melody”. And he heard the verdict: “In general, I like it. But this is not an orgasm! I don’t f*ck like that”, Selznick responded. Tiomkin was indignant: “Mr. Selznick, you f*ck your way, I f*ck my way. To me, that is f*cking music.” Puzzled by such a strong argument, the producer agreed with the composer. That’s how Tiomkin’s name became known in Hollywood.
Alfred Newman, Ned Washington, Dmytro Tiomkin and Walt Disney, March 19, 1953
INTERESTING FACTS
- Because of poverty, Tiomkin emigrated “in an unbearably bright green suit” made of a pair of curtains and said that he had felt like a clown during the first weeks in Germany.
- In the Russian TV series “Seventeen Moments of Spring” his music can be heard in the scene where the Nazi authorities are watching an American movie.
- The song “Wild Wind” set to music by Tiomkin has been performed by Barbra Streisand, Nina Simone, David Bowie.
- He composed music for films by iconic producers and directors: six by Howard Hawks, five by Stanley Kramer, and four by Alfred Hitchcock.
- His friends called the composer “Dimi”.
- He received two Oscars for work with Walt Disney at the same time. When he was asked by a journalist how he felt at that moment, Tiomkin said: “Like a mother of wonderful twins.”
- From the composer’s memoirs: “Ukrainian women have very beautiful legs, even in Hollywood I have not seen legs like those. I remember when I was a kid, I was ashamed of looking at them for so long: it seemed obscene to me.” The composer’s accent that hinted at his origins, in Hollywood was called “borschovy”.
Dmytro Tiomkin with his wife Albertina Rush
This article by Nadiia Avramchuk and Mykola Sukhomozsky is reprinted with the publisher's permission from the book (UN)Celebrated Ukrainians Who Changed the Course of History, SAMIT-KNYHA, Kyiv, 2020.