PersonJewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Con Conrad

American songwriter and composer, born Conrad K. Dober, who co-wrote 'The Continental' and received the first Academy Award for Best Original Song.

United States

Library of Congress / National Photo Company Collection / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic Domain

Biography

American songwriter and composer, born Conrad K. Dober, who co-wrote 'The Continental' and received the first Academy Award for Best Original Song. In Jewish World Records, Con Conrad is connected to the record “First Jewish Composer to Win the Academy Award for Best Original Song,” based on the stored achievement of Music (Song) — The Continental, 27 February 1935. At the 1935 Academy Awards, the first year in which Music (Song) was awarded, Con Conrad and lyricist Herb Magidson won for The Continental. JINFO lists Conrad as the first Jewish composer recipient in the category. The Academy's 1935 ceremony page lists The Continental as the Music (Song) winner, with music by Con Conrad. JINFO's Jewish Original Song chronology begins its composer list with Con Conrad in 1934/1935, coinciding with the category's inaugural award.

Video

Performance of Con Conrad's Academy Award-winning song “The Continental”; supporting holder/work context only.

Background video about this holder. It is not evidence for any JWR record value.

Records held by Con Conrad

JWR Verified

Awards · Academy AwardsFirst

First Jewish Composer to Win the Academy Award for Best Original Song

Record holder

Con Conrad

Record value

27 February 1935

Con Conrad is recognized by JWR as the first Jewish composer to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. At the 7th Academy Awards, held on 27 February 1935, “The Continental” won the newly introduced Music (Song) category. Conrad composed the music and Herb Magidson wrote the lyrics; the song was created for the film The Gay Divorcee. The Academy’s official ceremony record identifies the winning song and credits Conrad for its music. Because this was the first year in which the song category was awarded, the result also establishes the starting point for the category’s chronology. JWR’s Jewish-recipient comparison places Conrad first among qualifying composers in that sequence, while biographical and specialist music sources document his career and identity. The exact ceremony date, rather than simply 1935, is used as the record value.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Los Angeles, California, United States
Achievement date: 27 February 1935

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