Birthday profile

Arthur B. Rubinstein

Arthur B. Rubinstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 2018)

Born
March 31, 1938
Died
April 23, 2018
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1938

About Arthur B. Rubinstein

Arthur Benjamin Rubinstein (March 31, 1938 – April 23, 2018) was an American Emmy Award-winning composer. He composed several television series soundtracks and songs for film scores. He was frequently hired by film director John Badham, and the majority of his movie soundtracks are found in Badham's work, including Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981), WarGames (1983), Blue Thunder (1983), Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1986), Stakeout (1987), The Hard Way (1991), Another Stakeout (1993), and Nick of Time (1995). He was also member of the band The Beepers. In 1983 Rubinstein created the score to Blue Thunder (which he composed, conducted and produced) using various synthesizers, a popular instrument of the 80's era. In the score Rubinstein used these synthesizers in a symphonic manner by combining them with brass, percussion and string ensembles. Using the Synclavier II (a digital computer instrument) and dubbing this with both the Jupiter, the Prophet and the Moog analog synthesizers. Rubinstein also created a very unusual sound by placing a microphone inside a large empty water bottle and placing it underneath a Steinway grand piano. His other film and TV movie scores include The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972), The Great Bank Hoax (1977), The Great American Traffic Jam (1980), On the Right Track (1981), The Phoenix (1982), Deal of the Century (1983), The Cartier Affair (1984), It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (1984), Lost in America (1985), Murder in Space (1985), The Best of Times (1986), Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star (1986), Love Among Thieves (1987),Once Upon a Texas Train (1988), Inherit the Wind (1988), several Season Two episodes of The Simpsons and Dead Man's Island (1996). He died on April 23, 2018, from cancer at the age of 80. He was among those honored at the 2019 Grammy awards.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Arthur B. Rubinstein was born

Arthur B. Rubinstein was born in 1938. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1938

  • #1 song"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" – Ella Fitzgerald
  • Top movieThe Adventures of Robin Hood
  • Best-selling bookRebecca – Daphne du Maurier

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJoe Louis knocks out Max Schmeling in round 1
  • Top headlineWar of the Worlds broadcast causes nationwide panic
  • Technology milestoneNuclear fission discovered
  • Defining fadSuperman debuts in Action Comics #1
  • Notable inventionInstant coffee (Nescafé)
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population129.8M

1938 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Arthur B. Rubinstein's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19382026
Gas$0.20$3.45/gal
Average home$5,100$435,000
Average income$2,800$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population129.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.