MUSIC NEWS - The writer of the classic 'Addams Family' and "Green Acres" theme songs, Vic Mizzy, died at home in L.A. on Saturday night at the age of 93, his representative, Jonathan Wolfson informs us.
Vic was born in New York and began writing music for TV in the late 1950s, starting with the music for 'Shirley Temple's Storybook", but had been writing songs for the stars of the period, including Doris Day, Dean Martin, Billie Holiday and Perry Como for more than fifteen years, with many of his biggest hits becoming popular while he was serving in the US Navy during the Second World War.
Vic learned how to play from a player piano his family bought for $200, becoming a professional at the age of 14, when he won a pair of radio contests and toured the vaudeville circuit on the East Coast. In the early ‘40s into the ‘50s, he penned songs that were recorded by some of the biggest stars in show business. After the war, NBC head of programming David Levy had Mizzy write scores for several dramatic TV shows, including the Richard Boone Anthology, Dennis Weaver’s Kentucky Jones and Hank, then did his famed theme songs for The Addams Family and Green Acres, as well as contributing to the scores of Mr. Ed, F Troop and Petticoat Junction. The studio decided not to pay for singers on The Addams Family theme, so Mizzy sang it jimself while overdubbing his voice three times to give the impression of multiple vocalists.
“They had no theme,” remembered Mizzy. “So I wrote the music, told them it was going to start with ‘da-da-da-dum, snap, snap’ and that I visualized each character would have a separate take. I laid the music down, and then ended up directing the title sequence. The first thing I said to the actors was, ‘When you snap your fingers, do it in a bored way.’”
He also helped direct the title sequence for Green Acres, with Eddie Albert pitching hay, then Eva Gabor opening up packages to the song. “I also suggested a helicopter to pan in on the roof, synchronized to when they start singing.” Vic went on to score several Universal Pictures, including William Castle’s 1965 thriller The Night Walker, which led to his composing the music for the Don Knotts vehicles, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Reluctant Astronaut, The Shakiest Gun in the West, The Love God and How to Frame a Figg. Longtime fans, film director Sam Raimi and Columbia Pictures President of Worldwide Music Lia Vollack asked Vic to contribute a theme song for Sony's Spiderman 2, which was used on the DVD release of the film.
Vic is survived by his brother Sol, daughter Lynn Mizzy Jonas, husband Phil, grandson David and granddaughter Rachel. A memorial was held at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills, CA, followed by a nosh at Vic’s home, catered by Junior's Deli, his favorite!
More @ VicMizzy.com
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