The Simpsons composer who wrote show's music for 27 years dies
Alf Clausen, an Emmy-winning composer celebrated for orchestrating the mischievous backdrop tunes that defined 'The Simpsons ' for 27 years, has passed away.
According to his daughter Kaarin Clausen, who spoke to The Associated Press, Alf Clausen died on Thursday at his Los Angeles residence following a prolonged battle with Parkinson's Disease that spanned roughly ten years; he was 84.
Clausen, whose credits include scoring other TV series such as "Moonlighting" and "Alf" (to which he would often quip "no relation,"), garnered an impressive 30 Emmy Award nominations during his career, 21 of those for his work on "The Simpsons," bagging two wins. Al Jean, a longstanding writer on The Simpsons since the early days and a prominent creative force in the show during the 1990s, expressed on X Friday, "Clausen was an incredibly talented man who did so much for The Simpsons."
While Danny Elfman is the mastermind behind the iconic theme tune, Clausen came aboard Matt Groening's Fox animated series in 1990, and went on to compose close to 600 pieces, driving the 35-piece orchestra in-studio to bring them to life until 2017.
His colleagues always praised his compositions as vital to the series' comedic charm, yet Clausen had a firm belief that the best way to enhance the hilarity of Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa's capers was by playing it straight with the music, reports the Mirror US.
Matt Groening, in an interview back in 1996, commended Clausen as "one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show." Hailing from Minneapolis and brought up in Jamestown, North Dakota, Clausen's musical journey led him to graduate from Berklee College of Music in 1966 before venturing to Los Angeles with aspirations of forging a music career.
Throughout the '70s, he served as a musical director on numerous TV variety shows including "Donny and Marie." Later, he worked with composer Lee Holdridge as an orchestrator on scores for 1980s films such as "Splash" and "The Beastmaster."
When "Moonlighting," the charming detective series from ABC featuring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd came along in the late '80s, it was Lee Holdridge who landed the composing role initially but eventually handed it over to Clausen, earning him six Emmy nods for his compositions.
Notably, Clausen bagged two Emmys for his work on "The Simpsons" in 1997 and 1998, in addition to securing five Annie Awards valuable within the realm of animated television and film. His departure from "The Simpsons" in 2017 was due to budget cuts, prompting dismay among his collaborators and fans alike; Clausen took legal action against the dismissal.
Clausen's legacy endures through his beloved wife Sally, their children Kaarin, Scott, and Kyle, stepchildren Josh and Emily, along with eleven grandchildren.
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