HOYT CURTIN
(September 9, 1922-December
3, 2000)
Notable Roles: Composer, music producer, musical director
Curtin was always
musically inclined. He began playing piano at age 5, and in high school had his
own orchestra while playing in a jazz band. After serving in the Navy during WWII, Curtin studied
music at the University of Southern California on the G.I. Bill. Initially he wanted to be a composer and arranger for movies, but found
himself instead being highly-demanded in the field of radio and television
commercials due to his ability to write quick and memorable jingles. He did
manage to do some theater work, scoring music for a variety of animated
theatrical shorts such as Mr. Magoo and Tom and Jerry and some minor movies like Mesa of Lost Women and Jailbait. He met William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1957
while they were working on a commercial for Schlitz
beer. At the same time,
Hanna and Barbera were working on their first independent television series for
their new studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions, after having lost their jobs when MGM shut down their animation division. Needing
a theme song for The Ruff & Reddy Show, they provided Curtin with their lyrics and 5 minutes later he provided
them with the song. They signed him right then and there. Curtin would serve as
their primary composer, producer, and musical director for most of his tenure. Hanna-Barbera
would contact Curtin with the description of the shows in production, and he
would proceed to write the songs, hire the musicians, book and conduct the
orchestra. There would be times when Curtin was single-handedly writing and
recording the scores for up to 9 series at a time. Curtin retired in 1992,
turning to his love of gadgets to invent and license a design for an
underground lawn sprinkler. In 1995, Rhino Records
attempted to put together a tribute album in his honor featuring the various
songs he had composed over the years. Unfortunately, due to the methodology
Curtin employed in making his music, there were hardly any masters of the songs
he composed; existing only on the actual film stock. Curtin died in 2000 after
a brief hospitalization.
Saturday Credits:
The Ruff &
Reddy Show
Linus! The Lion
Hearted
The Atom Ant Show
Wacky Races
Josie and the
Pussycats
The Pebbles and
Bamm-Bamm Show
The Roman Holidays
The New
Scooby-Doo Movies
The Amazing Chan
and the Chan Clan
Josie and the
Pussycats in Outer Space
The Addams Family
(1973)
The ABC Saturday
Superstar Movie (episodes)
Speed Buggy
Jeannie
Super Friends
Inch High,
Private Eye
Goober and the
Ghost Chasers
Yogi’s Gang
Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kids
Partridge Family
2200 AD
Valley of the
Dinosaurs
Wheelie and the
Chopper Bunch
Korg: 70,000 B.C.
Hong Kong Phooey
These Are the Days
These Are the Days
Devlin
The Great Grape
Ape Show
The New Tom &
Jerry Show
Clue Club
Jabberjaw
The Skatebirds
Dynomutt, Dog
Wonder
The
Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour
The Mumbly
Cartoon Show
CB Bears
The All-New Super
Friends Hour
Scooby’s
Laff-A-Lympics
Captain Caveman
and the Teen Angels
Yogi’s Space Race
Galaxy Goof-Ups
Buford and the
Galloping Ghost
Jana of the
Jungle
Challenge of the
Superfriends
Dinky Dog
Godzilla (1978)
The World’s
Greatest Superfriends
The Super
Globetrotters
Scooby-Doo and
Scrappy-Doo (1979)
Casper and the
Angels
The All-New
Popeye Hour
Drak Pack
The Richie
Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
The Flintstone’s
Comedy Show
The Kwicky Koala
Show
Space Stars
Laverne &
Shirley in the Army
The Fonz and the
Happy Days Gang
Trollkins
The Smurfs
Superfriends (1981)
The Little
Rascals (1982)
The Gary Coleman
Show
Shirt Tales
The Scooby-Doo
and Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour
Mork &
Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour
Pac-Man
The Dukes
The New Scooby
and Scrappy-Doo Show
The Biskitts
Benji, Zax &
the Alien Prince
Challenge of the
GoBots
Snorks
SuperFriends: The
Legendary Super Powers Show
The New
Scooby-Doo Mysteries
The Super Powers
Team: Galactic Guardians
Galtar and the
Golden Lance
The 13 Ghosts of
Scooby-Doo
Wildfire (1986)
Yogi’s Treasure
Hunt
Popeye and Son
Foofur
Pound Puppies (1986)
The Flintstone
Kids
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