Milton Rosen played the violin from an early age and was later trained
in orchestration and composition at the Institute of Musical Art in New
York, where he worked with Italian composer Pietro Floridia and the
Russian emigre conductor Vladimir Bakaleinikoff. He composed several
classical pieces (including "A Columnist Suite for Violin & Piano")
during the 1930's, which were widely performed by notable symphony
orchestras in Boston, Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, and at the Hollywood
Bowl. Rosen also worked in radio and musical theatre, primarily as
orchestrator and arranger. In 1939, he joined the music department at
Universal and became a member of ASCAP two years later.
Rosen remained under contract with Universal (except for a brief stint
at Fox in 1948), from 1943 until 1973. During his tenure, he wrote more
than 150 songs and contributed, either as arranger, conductor or
musical supervisor to dozens of the studio's often colourful, escapist
extravaganzas. After 1950, Rosen held the position of assistant to the
head of the music department at Universal.