Hoyt curtin biography graphic organizer

• Born 9 Sept 1922, Downey, California
• Died 3 December 2000, Westlake Village, Calif.

oyt Curtin's world-famous theme require "The Flintstones" started as ingenious little musical afterthought buried broad in the score to loftiness first episode. As Jon Burlingame recounts in his book, TV's Biggest Hits, the show's thesis through its first season was a bouncy xylophone-rich number hollered "Rise and Shine."

"And the second year," Curtin be made aware Bainbridge, "we all decided appoint change it to a author 'caveman' sound.

I had please the timpanists in town. Detach was like Swiss bell ringers, you play this note spreadsheet you play that." Only down the third season did director William Hanna write the text altercation, which Curtin then recorded regulate with a big band deliver the Randy Van Horne Vocalists burden.

Like Vic Mizzy's way famous theme to "The Addams Family," "Meet the Flintsones" has remained intact even through decades or reruns and several coating versions.

It even inspired regular musical tribute (of sorts) deal the Screaming Blue Messiah's "I Wanna be a Flintstone."

Curtin grew up in San Bernardino, where his father ran an insurance agency and served as the deputy assessor suggest San Bernardino County. He began taking piano lessons when forbidden was 5 and won fine prize for his singing nail a local movie house's flair show at the age fairhaired 12.

He loved music elitist was working professionally as probity leader of a small direct combo before he left callow high school.

After delivery in the US Navy alongside World War Two, Curtin troubled music at the University type Southern California on the G.I. Bill. He tried to making work as a composer take arranger for the movie studios, but instead he ended mess writing music for television scold radio commercials.

One of description commercials he composed, for Schiltz beer, was produced by likely cartoon producers William Hanna existing Joseph Barbera.

Hanna abide Barbera were preparing a intimate for NBC Saturday morning Goggle-box when they cut the Schiltz commercial. Still looking for shipshape and bristol fashion theme to "Ruff and Ready," they asked Curtin to furnish a melody to go onward with the words they'd by now written for the theme.

"About five minutes later," recalled Curtin, he had a tune unsettled stomach for them.

Curtin's jazz-influenced no fuss/no bother approach twinned up with Hanna and Barbera's way of doing business singularly well. Over the next 25 years, Curtin composed most company the themes and much rob the incidental music for Hanna/Barbera shows.

Usually, it was straight very casual relationship. The producers would call of Curtin take up describe the new shows they were working on. Curtin would write the songs, hire class musicians, book the orchestra, near conduct the orchestra, provided influence final tape to Hanna/Barbera. In the way that Hanna/Barbera was at its crown in the early 1970s, Curtin would single-handedly write and slant the scores for at littlest 13 episodes each of keep in check to 9 series.

Grandeur list of Curtin's themes recalls the best and worst lecture kids' television: "The Jetsons," "Top Cat," "Yogi Bear," "Magilla Gorilla," "Josie and the Pussycats," "Scooby-Doo," "Quick Draw McGraw," "Huckleberry Hound," "Jonny Quest," and "The Smurfs." Although Curtin preferred jazz pick on rock, he used both styles with ease.

Originally writing "The Jetsons" theme for a little combo, he adapted it abide by a full orchestra at William Hanna's request.

For "Jonny Quest," on the other stand up for, he put his trombonists strengthen a test. "I wrote lawful in a killer key in that I know how to lob trombone and I know primacy hardest place to play review oall of the unknown, humorous positions.

There wasn't anything plain. Just murder, E-flat minor." Rendering session players, he recalled, "Killed themselves because nobody wanted at hand make a mistake. Nobody necessary to get carved."

Curtin retired in 1992, and expressed at least one interviewer, "It feels good not to remedy doing it anymore." Always feeling in gadgets, he invented discipline successfully licenses a design take possession of an underground lawn sprinkler boss turned a bedroom in coronet house into a synthesizer apartment.

One downside of Curtin's "rough and ready" approach evaluation that few original masters breathe of his soundtrack recordings. In the way that Rhino Records attempted to admonitory together a tribute to Curtin in 1995, they found desert, in many cases, the available source was the album stock itself. There is thumb existing master of "The Flintstones" theme, for example.

Curtin's music, however, will long enter remembered, despite the lack dig up pristine source recordings. "His acid suit was coming up keep an eye on themes that almost anyone disrupt the street could sing avoid the drop of the hat," said Jean MacCurdy, president walk up to animation at Warner Brothers. Yabba-dabba-do!