Rene was born in New York City, but his parents soon moved back to Germany, and Rene grew up in Berlin. He received a thorough German education in classical music and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Berlin. In the mid-1920s, he spent several years in the United States, working with a variety of orchestras, but he returned to work as an arranger for Electrola, an RCA affiliated recording company in Berlin. Several years later, he became Musical Director for Electrola, as well as for the famed German movie studio, UFA.

In 1936, he emigrated to the U.S. and became the musical director for the international branch of Victor Records. In 1941, he formed a continental-styled small orchestra, but broke that up when he joined the Army. After the war, he returned to RCA Victor as a musical director. He arranged and conducted a number of light classical singles releases, and backed a variety of singers.

Rene recorded under his own name on occasion. Although his Music for Bachelors is pretty tame stuff, it's a hot collector's item because of its cover, which features Jayne Mansfield posed seductively in a negligee (presumably calling her favorite bachelor to come over check out her hi-fi).

Of more listening interest are Compulsion to Swing and Riot in Rhythm, which include Esquivel-ian arrangements and zany combinations of instrumentation. Rene retired from RCA in 1959 and worked as an independent after that. White Heat, on Imperial, rivals Compulsion and Riot, and includes a great version of "Woody Woodpecker." Rene returned to RCA in 1961 to record Dynamic Dimensions for the great Stereo Action series.