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Emmy-Winning Composer Who Wrote One of the Most Recognizable Show Themes in TV History, Dies

Jun 30, 2010  •  Post A Comment

The Emmy Award-winning co-composer of one of the most recognizable show themes in TV history has died, the New York Times reports.

TV music composer Allyn Ferguson died on June 23 at his home in Westlake Village, California at the age of 85.

Ferguson, co-writing with the late Jack Elliott, composed the theme to "Barney Miller. "Miller," a comedy set at a police station in Greenwich Village, opens with a memorable jazzy bass line, the Times’ reported. [You can listen to the "Barney Miller" theme below.] 

The duo also composed the "Charlie’s Angels" theme which seems to capture a bit of the danger and glamour its three female private detectives encounter, the article says.

“Both are iconic in the sense that most people who were around in that era can easily recall those tunes,” University of Southern California film and television music historian Jon Burlingame told the Times. 

Ferguson and Elliot co-wrote dozens of underscores for episodes of shows including "Starsky & Hutch" and "S.W.A.T.," the article says. Ferguson also wrote scores for more than 60 TV movies, winning an Emmy in 1985 for "Camille," the story adds.

2 Comments

  1. The best part of that video was remembering what a great show that was and some fo the fantastice actors that were part of one of the great television ensembles – Jack Soo, Abe Vigoda, Max Gail, Ron Glass and Hal Linden – a Broadway Star that noone believed could carry a sitcom.

  2. Nice blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol

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