Composer, dramatist and actor.
The son of Turkish immigrants, Albert Aarons was educated at Cleveland Street Public School and Crown Street High School. After graduating from the New South Wales State Conservatorium in 1924 he studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and then travelled to London where he became known professionally as Albert Arlen (he changed his name legally in 1948). During his time in England (1925-1940) he played in cinema theatre orchestras and dance bands, wrote plays and musicals for the London stage - among them The Son of the Grand Eunuch (1937) and performed a number of roles in West End theatre productions. From 1935 he also wrote material for the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Following the outbreak of war Arlen joined the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot's assistant in the Middle and Far East. His concerto for piano and orchestra, Alamein Concerto was inspired by these experiences. It was first performed in Cairo in 1944. He spent the immediate post-war years in Singapore as part of the British Military Administration, and during this time wrote several musical revues. These were also produced in Hong Kong, Malaya and Ceylon.
In 1949 Arlen married actress/singer Nancy Brown. Born in Brisbane in 1909, Brown had moved to England at the age of 14 following the divorce of her parents. She appeared opposite Richard Tauber in such musicals as Old Chelsea and The Maid of the Mountains. The couple settled in Canberra and in 1950 began working on a musical adaptation of C. J. Dennis's The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke. The work was to become their most popular and enduring collaboration.
Among Arlen's many music theatre works are Stardust (1935), Twilight (1936), The Girl from the Snowy (1960), Marriages are Made in Heaven (1960) and Oh Gosh! (ca. 1979). He also wrote the plays The Son of the Grand Eunuch (1937), and Counterfeit (1939, with Cyril Butcher). Two of his songs, 'Clancy of the Overflow' and 'The Rivetter' were recorded by Peter Dawson. The first became a best seller in 1955.
Arlen was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in January 1990 for his 'service to music and the performing arts.'
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