You may not know his name — he titled his autobiography Memoirs of a Famous Composer Nobody Ever Heard Of — but you know Earle Hagen’s music. Hagen, who died Monday at age 88, was one of TV’s most prolific composers, the man behind such iconic and unforgettable melodies as the Andy Griffith Show and Dick Van Dyke Show themes. (That’s Hagen himself you hear whistling the Andy Griffith tune.) From the ’50s through the ’80s, he composed some 3,000 episodes’ worth of TV music, including such memorable theme songs as the ones for I Spy, The Mod Squad, and That Girl. Back in his big band days, playing trombone for the likes of Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, he composed the jazz standard "Harlem Nocturne," which he updated in the 1980s as the theme for Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer. "People used to watch Mike Hammer just to listen to the music," quipped Hammer star Stacy Keach at a ceremony last month, inducting Hagen into the TV Academy’s Hall of Fame for his 50 years of television work. In addition to his 2000 memoir, Hagen also wrote two textbooks still in use by film and TV scoring students.
Which is good to know, since TV theme song composition seems to be a lost art. Today, TV networks are so afraid you’ll change the channel if there’s more than 10 seconds without dramatic action taking place that they’ve all but done away with traditional theme songs. (Or else they’ve replaced original theme songs with ready-made, familiar pop tunes.) It’s nearly inconceivable now that a network show would get a whole minute of introductory music to establish mood, character, and backstory, the way Hagen and his contemporaries did as recently as 20 years ago. So take a moment to remember Hagen by listening to some of his best loved tunes. Televisiontunes.com has The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Spy, Mod Squad, That Girl, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, among others. Or you can whistle along to the Andy Griffith fanvid below.
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man i miss tv theme songs!!! where is the originality in hollywood anymore?? this generation of hollywood whatevers are lazy & uncreative hacks compared with the early days of entertainment even up to the late 80’s. it’s like when the techno part got better the ability to create apart from the computer disappeared.nothing is as fun,simple,substanial,or unique anymore.i’m tired of reality & computer generated entertainment. i want actors who can act,comedians who are funny, & tv shows that are quality again.the theme music for shows made them more memorable & fun, even if they were dramas. the american public has settled for mediocre attempts at entertainment for too long. as we pay more for our entertainment the value has hit a new low.that’s why i’d just as soon turn on an old movie, listen to an old song,or watch reruns of old shows on cable than watch or listen to this garbage they’re trying to pass off as entertainment.
Amazing that the same man composed the Andy Griffith theme as Mod Squad. Thanks for the obit.
I too was quite surprised to see that Hagen had composed both the Mod Squad and the theme to the Andy Griffith Show. Just goes to show his versatility.
One of my old cherished cassette tapes hanging around in storage is a compilation of great theme tunes from the 60s and 70s. Wish I had it now for a bit of drive down nostalgia avenue. A favourite has always been the Andy Griffith Show’s tune – try as I might, I’ve never managed that whistle.
Despite the sometimes cornyness of theme tunes (Magilla Gorilla, anyone) they did set the shows up nicely. Just not the same now with just a few seconds of original tune, or a well-worn pop song to open shows. Different times; different promo needs.
Thanks for the obit. I’m an classically trained saxophonist (yes, that sound ironic) who has performed Harlem Nocturne in numerous plays, as a soloist with bands and jazz bands, and even in a church service for the offertory. Earle Hagen was an icon.
Don’t forget Hagen’s rousing military theme for “Gomer Pyle — USMC”, a mid-1960s spinoff of “The Andy Griffith Show.”
Here’s the first part of Hagen’s 10-part interview for the Archive of American Television project. It’s an invaluable discussion of the composer’s early days in show business and his career in television.
Film Score Monthly released a generous CD of Hagen’s scores from “I Spy” (not to be confused with the two commercial LPs he did in the 1960s), and it’s great stuff — highly recommended. I think you can get it on Amazon.
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