Hagen, Earle

Earle Hagen was a composer, conductor, and arranger, born in 1919. As a young trombonist he played with big bands and did some composing, including "Harlem Nocturne" (1940). After serving in the Army Air Corps Radio and Film Unit in Santa Ana, he joined 20th Century Fox as an orchestrator in 1947, working under Lionel Newman. He scored a number of motion pictures before changing to television production, scoring for producer Sheldon Leonard, for whom he worked for 17 years. He composed the hit theme for "Perry Mason" television production and the whistling theme for "The Andy Griffith Show". He won an Emmy for his theme and sound track release for the series, "I Spy". He scored over 2,000 episodes of top rated television shows. He also taught young composers and influenced the field through them. He wrote two texts, "Scoring for Films" (1971) and "Advanced Techniques for Films" (1990).

From the description of Earle Hagen papers, 1953-1971. (University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center). WorldCat record id: 68903566