Ronald Stein (BA Music ’51) was born in St. Louis on April 12, 1930. His first piano teacher was his mother, Ceclia, who was a pianist in the silent movie theaters. It was through her that he became enamored with film and especially film music; which became his life’s work. From 1938-1947, he was privately educated at the Leo C. Miller studios. He entered Washington University in 1947 and wrote Quad Shows and Thyrsus Revues (student productions) during the years from 1947 through 1951. While at Washington University he was also rehearsal pianist, then assistant conductor at the Municipal Opera Theatre. After graduation he married Harlene Hiken.

In 1951 Stein attended Yale University, but his studies were cut short when he was drafted into the Army. While in the Army, he composed and conducted many Army shows. In September of 1955, he composed and conducted his first film score, Apache Woman, for American International Pictures. He was signed to a five-year contract and composed 55 scores; most memorable are The Legend of Tom Dooley and The Littlest Hobo.

After 1961 he became an independent composer, scoring, arranging, and conducting more than 90 films and working with such famous Hollywood luminaries such as Francis Coppola, Richard Rush, and Alex Gordon. The best known pictures from this period are The Premature Burial, Of Love and Desire, Dementia 13, The Rain People, and Getting Straight.

From 1973 to 1978, Stein worked for Paragon films as a post production supervisor. He was also involved with the television series Dateline Yesterday. From 1980 to 1985 he was professor of music at the University of Colorado at Denver.

Stein returned to Los Angeles in 1985, again working on several pictures as post production supervisor and devoting his time to several charities. He died on August 15, 1988 of pancreatic cancer.

Much of Stein’s music is represented by Perma Music.