Leo F. Forbstein was an American film music director and orchestra conductor. He was originally from St. Louis, Missouri and worked with orchestras throughout the state including that of the Newman Theater in Kansas City where he was the principal conductor. He later signed with Warner Bros. as one of the directors of the Vitaphone Orchestra, earning his first screen credit on "The Squall" in 1929. It was with this company that his success in the field began to gain recognition. At the 1937 Academy Awards, he won an Oscar as the head of the Warner Bros. music department for the score in "Anthony Adverse" (1936) and was nominated again in 1938 for "The Life of Emile Zola." He is pictured here in what was likely a conductor's tuxedo, appearing in thought with chin in hand and a pensive expression.