Life and career
Bakaleinikoff was from a large musical family. His brothers were Nikolai Bakaleinikov (flautist, composer and conductor), Vladimir Bakaleinikov (violist, composer and conductor), and Mikhail (Mischa) Bakaleinikoff (composer). He studied at the Moscow Conservatory. Following the Russian revolution he migrated to the United States of America with his brother Mischa. Constantin Bakaleinikoff (pronounced back-a-LAIN-a-koff) worked as a conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic before beginning his Hollywood career as a freelance composer. At the 1927 premiere of Director Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings at Hollywood's famed Grauman's Chinese Theater, which was hosted by D.W. Griffith and speakers DeMille and Mary Pickford, the audience was treated to a concert of film music "classics" conducted by Constantin Bakaleinikoff.
With the arrival of sound, the Bakaleinikoff brothers became studio maestros. Mischa joined Columbia Pictures, while Constantin became a musical director at Paramount Pictures, followed by MGM. Constantin also worked briefly at Columbia, and later for independent Grand National Pictures.
In 1935, Bakaleinikoff participated in making the earliest dance film, Spring Night. He conducted Joseph Achron's score for this first experimental ballet film, which featured the choreography and dancing of David Lichine, who had danced with Colonel de Basil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Nana Gollner, the Texas-born ballerina, was his partner. This pioneering film, which emerged from the Diaghilev sphere of influence, was produced by Adolf Zuckor. The camera work was by George Clemens, who went on to do the cinematography for the Twilight Zone and other popular television shows.
He received his first Academy Award nomination for scoring the James Cagney feature, Something to Sing About.
Later, Bakaleinikoff became the senior music director at RKO Radio Pictures, where he spent most of his motion picture career. He earned Academy Award nominations for his work on The Fallen Sparrow, Higher and Higher, and None But the Lonely Heart. For Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946), starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, he conducted the original score by composer Roy Webb, one that complements the director's elements of suspense and danger throughout the film.
Constantin Bakaleinikoff, who was always billed as "C. Bakaleinikoff," appeared on camera as himself in RKO's backstage musical Ding Dong Williams (filmed 1945, released in April 1946).
He remained at RKO until the studio folded in 1956. He was married to silent film actress Fritzi Ridgeway.
He donated his time and talent in the late 1950's in mentoring and conducting the Burbank Youth Symphony.
He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale).
Spring Night (1935) David Lichine, Nana GollnerSomething to Sing About (1936) Grand National PicturesJames CagneyThe Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) RKO Radio PicturesFred Astaire, Ginger RogersThe Big Street (1942) RKOHenry Fonda, Lucille BallStage Door Canteen (1943) RKOAll-star castTarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) RKOJohnny Weissmuller, Nancy Kelly, Johnny SheffieldHigher and Higher (1943) RKO"I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" - Frank Sinatra, Stanley Wrightsman (Piano), The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"The Music Stopped" - Frank Sinatra, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"I Saw You First" - Frank Sinatra, Marcy McGuire, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" (With Orchestra) - Frank Sinatra, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" (Piano & Vocal) - Frank Sinatra, Stanley Wrightsman (Piano)"You're on Your Own" - Frank Sinatra, Dooley Wilson, Mel Tormé, Marcy McGuire, Michèle Morgan, Victor Borge, Cast, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"You're on Your Own" (Reprise) - Frank Sinatra, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"Finale: I Saw You First/A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening/The Music Stopped" - Frank Sinatra, Marcy McGuire, Barbara Hale, Chorus, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin BakaleinikoffStep Lively (1944) RKO"Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are" - Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven, Chorus, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"As Long as There's Music" - Frank Sinatra, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"Where Does Love Begin?" - Frank Sinatra, Anne Jeffreys, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"Some Other Time" - Frank Sinatra, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"Some Other Time" (Duet Version) - Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"And Then You Kissed Me" (Outtake) - Frank Sinatra, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"Finale: As Long as There's Music/Some Other Time/As Long As There's Music/Where Does Love Begin?" - Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven, George Murphy, Chorus, RKO Radio Studio Orchestrra, C. BakaleinikoffTall in the Saddle (1944) RKOJohn WayneShow Business (1944) RKOEddie Cantor, Joan Davis, Nancy Kelly, Constance Moore, George MurphyMurder, My Sweet (1944) RKODick Powell, Claire TrevorBack to Bataan (1945) RKOJohn Wayne, Anthony QuinnDick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946) RKOMorgan Conway, Anne JeffreysThe Spiral Staircase (1946) RKODorothy McGuire, Ethel Barrymore, Rhonda FlemingNotorious (1946) RKOCary Grant, Ingrid BergmanDing Dong Williams (1946) RKO"Piano Concerto in A Minor, Opus 16" - Played by the RKO studio orchestra conducted by C. Bakaleinikoff with prodigy Richard Korbel at the pianoBorn to Kill (1947) RKOLawrence Tierney, Claire TrevorOut of the Past (1947) RKORobert Mitchum, Jane GreerMourning Becomes Electra (1947) RKORosalind Russell, Michael RedgraveThe Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) RKOCary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley TempleTycoon (1947) RKOJohn Wayne, Laraine DayCrossfire (1947) RKORobert Young, Robert MitchumMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) RKOCary Grant, Myrna LoyI Remember Mama (1948) RKOIrene DunneThe Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949)RKOCharles Laughton, Burgess MeredithThe Set Up (1949) RKORobert RyanMighty Joe Young (1949) RKOTerry Moore, Ben JohnsonShe Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) RKOJohn WayneFlying Leathernecks (1951) RKOJohn WayneDouble Dynamite (1951) RKO"It's Only Money" - Frank Sinatra, Groucho Marx, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"Kisses And Tears" - Frank Sinatra, Jane Russell, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin Bakaleinikoff"Finale: It's Only Money" - Frank Sinatra, Groucho Marx, Jane Russell, The RKO Radio Studio Orchestra, Constantin BakaleinikoffMacao (1952) RKORobert Mitchum, Jane RussellClash by Night (1952) RKOBarbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Marilyn MonroeThe Hitch-Hiker (1953) RKOEdmond O'Brien, Frank LovejoySusan Slept Here (1954) RKODick Powell, Debbie ReynoldsThe Conqueror (1956) RKOJohn Wayne, Susan HaywardThe Bachelor Party (1957) United ArtistsCarolyn Jones, Don Murray, E.G. Marshall, Jack WardenSt. Louis Blues (1958) Paramount"Saint Louis Blues" - Performed by Nat 'King' Cole and Pearl Bailey