Leopold Stokowski

Leo from Little Einsteins (2005) is named after him.

Pictured on one of a set of eight 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps in the Legends of American Music series, issued 12 September 1997, celebrating "Classical Composers & Conductors". Others honored in this issue are Arthur Fiedler, George Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Samuel Barber, Ferde Grofé Sr., Charles Ives, and Louis Moreau Gottschalk.

All born after his death, he has two granddaughters and one grandson by his son Stan Stokowski (with third wife Gloria Vanderbilt ): Aurora (born March 1983), Abra (born c. 1986) and Myles (born 1998).

Founded the American Symphony Orchestra in New York, a training orchestra for young musicians, in 1962.

Made his long past due debut with the Metropolitan Opera conducting Puccini's "Turandot" in 1961, and he made that debut with a cast on his foot. He had suffered a broken foot two weeks earlier playing a vigorous game of touch football with his sons by third wife 'Gloria Vanderbilt'. The boys, at the time, were 9 and 11 years old. Stokowski was 78.

Served as music director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra from 1955 to 1961.

Father of Leopold Stanislaus "Stan" Stokowski, Jr. (born 1950) and Christopher Stokowski (born 1952) by third wife Gloria Vanderbilt.

Spoofed in the Bugs Bunny cartoon Long-Haired Hare (1949).

Friz Freleng's 1937 cartoon She Was an Acrobat's Daughter (1937) features a canine caricature of him called "Stickoutski".

One of his greatest concerns was achieving the ultimate fidelity in sound reproduction. He was experimenting with stereophonic sound as far back as 1931, long before Herbert von Karajan ever did. His first great achievement in the field was the musical soundtrack for Walt Disney's "Fantasia", in which he conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra. The film used what we would now probably consider a very primitive kind of stereo, much more so than the stereophonic sound first marketed on audio tape in 1954 and on LPs in 1958, but it was a true breakthrough in its time.

He was responsible for making the Philadelphia Orchestra into one of the great orchestras of the world. It was completely unknown before he began conducting it, and by the 1920s, he had already made it world famous. It was Stokowski who first gave the orchestra the rich, lush sound for which it was known.

Conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1912 until 1938, returning in 1940 to conduct it for Walt Disney's classic film, Fantasia (1940).

Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra 1909-1912.

One of the greatest conductors of the 20th Century, famed for introducing many composers into the orchestral repertoire, the Maestro was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star, for his achievements in the Recording Indusry, is located at 1600 Vine St.