David Hess

About David Hess

Who is it?: Actor, Soundtrack, Composer
Birth Day: September 19, 1936
Birth Place:  New York City, New York, United States
Died On: October 7, 2011(2011-10-07) (aged 75)\nTiburon, California, United States
Birth Sign: Libra
Other names: David Dante, David Hill
Occupation: Actor, Songwriter, Film producer, Film director, Composer
Years active: 1956–2011
Spouse(s): Regina Mardek

David Hess Net Worth

David Hess was born on September 19, 1936 in  New York City, New York, United States, is Actor, Soundtrack, Composer. David Alexander Hess was born in New York City in 1936. He began his professional career as a songwriter for Shalimar Music, in 1957, under the pseudonym of David Hill. His first recording was a quick hit, which was later performed by and credited to Elvis Presley, "All Shook Up."David went on to compose "Start Movin'" for Sal Mineo and "Rockin' Shoes" for the The Ames Brothers. He continued to write songs for Elvis throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including "I Got Stung," "Come Along" (from the film "Frankie And Johnny"), and "Sand Castles" (from the film "Paradise, Hawaiian Style"). He also wrote "Make Me Know You're Mine" (first performed by Conway Twitty, and "Blue Lagoon." "Your Hand, Your Heart, Your Love" became a 1960s hit when it was performed by Andy Williams. In 1963 David wrote and recorded "Speedy Gonzalez," which became a #1 single for Pat Boone, selling more than eight million copies worldwide. David then recorded two solo albums for Kapp Records, again topping the charts, this time with a Top Ten folk hit called "Two Brothers."In 1969 he became head of A&R at Mercury Records in New York. There he linked up with Western classical composer John Corigliano, and together they wrote the Grammy award-winning rock opera "The Naked Carmen", which became a big hit of the Berlin Ballet Week in 1970. David's work with Mercury also included "And the Children Toll the Passing of the Day," a 1969 album he wrote for Irish actor Malachy McCourt.In 1972 his career split off into several new directions with his starring role in the Wes Craven horror classic The Last House on the Left (1972), for which he also composed the soundtrack. He went on to score Buck ai confini del cielo (1991), a children's film based on a collection of Jack London stories. It won the top prize for film and direction at the Giffone Film Festival. A subsequent job offer from PolyGram Records' German affiliate gave David the opportunity to move to Munich, Germany, and a multilingual career in film dubbing from 1972 to 1976, which in turn led him to write the English-language shooting scripts for such German greats as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Reinhard Hauff and his present collaborator, Peter Schamoni.His ability to switch seamlessly from in front of the camera to the production team earned him the opportunity to direct his first American feature film, To All a Goodnight (1980), for Media Home Entertainment in 1980. He also appeared in two low-budget horror films directed by Ruggero Deodato, La casa sperduta nel parco (1980) and Camping del terrore (1986).In 1991 he played the part of the American in Peter Schamoni's Max Ernst: Mein Vagabundieren - Meine Unruhe (1991). From 1993 to 1995 he produced Niki de Saint Phalle: Wer ist das Monster - du oder ich? (1996).David's final musical accomplishments included the release of two albums, "Caught Up In The Moment" and "Live & Unplugged in Hollywood, 2002." He lived in Southern California, just outside of Los Angeles, with his wife, with whom he had three children.David Hess died on 7 October, 2011.
David Hess is a member of Actor

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some David Hess images

Biography/Timeline

1936

Hess was born David Alexander Hess on September 19, 1936 in New York City. His mother, Marjory, was an opera singer. Hess was Jewish.

1956

In 1956, Hess recorded the original version of the Otis Blackwell composition "All Shook Up" under the stage name David Hill. The next year the song became a #1 hit single for Elvis Presley.

1957

He began his professional career as a Songwriter for Shalimar Music in 1957. He composed "Start Movin'" for Sal Mineo and "Rockin' Shoes" for the Ames Brothers. In 1959 he recorded a cover version of Cliff Richard's "Living Doll" for Kapp Records and it became a mild placed charter for him on the US Billboard charts. He wrote songs for Elvis Presley throughout the 1950s and 1960s, which include "I Got Stung", "Come Along", and "Sand Castles". "Your Hand, Your Heart, Your Love" became a 1960s hit when it was performed by Andy Williams. In 1962, Hess wrote and recorded "Speedy Gonzales", (as David Dante) which became a #6 single for Pat Boone in the US and a #2 in the UK, selling more than eight million copies worldwide. Hess then recorded two solo albums for Kapp Records, again topping the charts, this time with a Top Ten folk hit called "Two Brothers."

1969

In 1969, he became head of A&R at Mercury Records in New York. There he linked up with Western classical Composer John Corigliano, and together they wrote the Grammy award-winning rock opera The Naked Carmen, which became a big hit of the Berlin Ballet Week in 1970. His work with Mercury also included And the Children Toll the Passing of the Day, a 1969 album he wrote for Irish actor Malachy McCourt.

1972

A subsequent job offer from PolyGram's German affiliate gave Hess the opportunity to move to Munich, Germany, and a multilingual career in film dubbing from 1972 to 1976 which in turn led him to writing the English language shooting scripts for such German Directors as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Reinhard Hauff, and his present collaborator, Peter Schamoni.

1980

In 1980, he directed his first American feature film, To All a Good Night, for Media Home Entertainment in 1980. He also appeared in two horror films directed by Ruggero Deodato, La Casa sperduta nel parco (1980) and Camping del terrore (1987). He appeared as a villain in Wes Craven's Swamp Thing in 1982.

1991

In 1991, he played the part of the American in Peter Schamoni's Max Ernst—My Wanderings, My Unrest (1991). From 1993 to 1995 he produced Niki de Saint Phalle: Wer ist das Monster - du oder ich? (1996).

2002

In later years, he released two albums, Caught Up In The Moment and Live & Unplugged in Hollywood, 2002. He lived in Northern California, just outside San Francisco, with his wife Regina Mardek, with whom he had three children. He worked on several tracks for the horror film Cabin Fever (2003), directed by Eli Roth.

2011

Hess died from a heart attack on October 7, 2011 in Tiburon, California. He was 75.

2013

In 2013 One Way Static Records released the Soundtrack to Last House on the Left on vinyl, compact disc, cassette and digital download. This was intended as a posthumous tribute and the liner notes on the release include extensive writings by David's family, colleagues and friends. This edition was repressed on a limited, hand numbered picture disc for Record Store Day 2014.