Frank Churchill was a film composer whose songs for early Walt Disney animated features became enduring standards. Born in Rumford, Maine, in 1901, Churchill joined Disney Studios in 1930 and wrote the music that defined the studio's early golden age. His "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" from The Three Little Pigs (1933) became Disney's first major commercial hit. For Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Churchill composed featured songs with lyricist Larry Morey, including "Someday My Prince Will Come," which later became a jazz standard, and "Heigh-Ho" and "Whistle While You Work." Working with lyricist Ned Washington on Dumbo (1941), he wrote the Oscar-nominated "Baby Mine." Churchill's melodies combined accessibility with sophisticated harmonic movement, allowing them to transcend their animated origins. He died in 1942 in Castaic, California.
