John Stepan Zamecnik

John Stepan Zamecnik (May 14, 1872 in Cleveland, Ohio – June 13, 1953 in Los Angeles, California) was an American composer and conductor. He is best known for the “photoplay music” he composed for use during silent films by pianists, organists, and orchestras. Zamecnik used many pseudonyms, including Dorothy Lee, Lionel Baxter, R.L. (Robert) Creighton, Arturo de Castro, “Josh and Ted”, J. (Jane) Hathaway, Kathryn Hawthorne, Roberta Hudson, Ioane Kawelo, J. Edgar Lowell, Jules Reynard, F. (Frederick) Van Norman, Hal Vinton and Grant Wellesley. Early life John Zamecnik was born in Cleveland to Czech immigrants Josef Zámečník (1832-1915) and Kateřina Hrubecká (1838-1908). Josef was born in Budičovice and Kateřina was born in the nearby Skály. The couple married in Heřmaň in 1862. Josef’s brother Jan later married Kateřina’s sister Konstancie in the same place in 1869. Both couples immigrated to Ohio bringing Josef’s daughters and perhaps other relatives. Jan’s grandson was the geneticist Paul Zamecnik. Career Zamecnik studied at the Prague Conservatory of Music under Antonín Dvořák in the mid-1890s, completing his classes there in 1897. In 1899 Zamecnik finally returned to the United