He studied music at his local conservatory, later perfecting his training under Ernst Toch in Los Angeles.
By the 1920s, he was employed as a pianist, arranger and orchestrator with big name dance bands like those of Paul Whiteman and Irving Aaronson and His Commanders.
He occasionally composed original soundtracks for better productions, like A Thousand and One Nights (1945) or Dead Reckoning (1946).
Skiles served as musical director for Columbia's mega-hit Gilda (1946), starring Rita Hayworth in her most famous role.
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