Musical Director George Stoll Dies

George Stoll, 79, longtime musical director at MGM, died Friday at Community Hospital of Monterey after a short illness. He had been living in the nearby community of Pebble Beach.

Stoll, who was called Georgie by his friends in Hollywood, orchestrated numerous MGM musicals between the late 1930s and the mid-1960s, winning an Academy Award for the score of the 1945 film “Anchors Aweigh.”

Other Stoll musicals include: “Babes in Arms” (1939); “Ziegfeld Girl” (1941); “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1945); “Neptune’s Daughter” (1949); “I Love Melvin” (1953); “The Student Prince” (1954); “Hit the Deck” (1955); “Meet Me in Las Vegas” (1956); “Jumbo” (1962) and “Made in Paris” (1966).

Born May 7, 1905, in Minneapolis, Stoll began his career as a radio orchestra leader, working on various shows. He also toured the United States and Canada as a violin soloist before going to work for MGM.

Stoll is survived by his wife Merian of Pebble Beach.

Private burial will be at Hollywood Cemetery on Tuesday.