Songwriter Earle Hagen has died at his home in California at the age of 88.
Born in Chicago, the musician grew up in LA and began playing the trombone whilst at school, graduating at sixteen to begin touring with big bands. He enlisted in 1942 and served in the Army Air Force's radio production unit, writing and arranging for its 65 piece orchestra. During this period he began arranging music for Hollywood movies, and in 1946 was signed to Century Fox, where he worked on films such as 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' and 'There's No Business Like Show Business'.
In the fifties, Hagen started to compose themes for television shows - amongst them 'The Andy Griffith Show', 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', and 'The Mod Squad'. He worked on more than 3000 TV programmes during the course of his career. Mike Post, composer for the likes of 'Law & Order' and 'NYPD Blue' paid tribute to Hagen, saying "not only was Earle the Father of modern day television music - but his mentoring godfathered countless other composers into the field. He lived his entire life with kindness and generosity".
An Oscar nominee, Grammy Award winner, and recipient of the BMI's lifetime achievement award, Hagan was also the author of three books on scoring. He's survived by his wife, two sons, three stepchildren and four grandchildren.