Latest news with #AlJean
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Simpsons contributor dies at age 84 after suffering from rare illness as tributes pour in
Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer whose music provided essential accompaniment for the animated antics of The Simpsons for 27 years, has died. His daughter Kaarin Clausen told The Associated Press that Alf Clausen died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles after struggling with Parkinson's Disease for about a decade. He was 84. Clausen, who also scored TV series including Moonlighting and Alf ('no relation,' he used to joke) was nominated for 30 Emmy Awards, 21 of them for The Simpsons, winning twice. Al Jean, an early Simpsons writer who was one of the key creative figures on the show in the 1990s, said in a post on X Friday that 'Clausen was an incredibly talented man who did so much for The Simpsons.' While Danny Elfman wrote the show's theme song, Clausen joined the Fox animated series created by Matt Groening in 1990 and provided essentially all of its music until 2017, composing nearly 600 scores and conducting the 35-piece orchestra that played it in the studio. His colleagues said his music was a key component of the show's comedy, but Clausen believed the best way to back up the gags of Homer, Marge Bart and Lisa was by making the music as straight as possible. 'This is a dream job for a composer,' Clausen told Variety, which first reported his death, in 1998. 'Matt Groening said to me very early on, `We´re not a cartoon. We´re a drama where the characters are drawn. I want you to score it like a drama.´ I score the emotions of the characters as opposed to specific action hits on the screen.' Groening, in a 1996 interview, called him 'one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show.' Clausen was born in Minneapolis and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1966, and moved to Los Angeles seeking a career in music. In the 1970s he was a musical director on several TV variety shows including 'Donny & Marie.' Clausen worked as an orchestrator for composer Lee Holdridge in his scores for 1980s films including 'Splash' and 'The Beastmaster.' It was Holdridge who first got the composing job on 'Moonlighting,' the late-80s ABC rom-com detective series starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd, but he handed the gig off to Clausen, who would get six Emmy nominations for his music on it. Clausen won his Emmys for 'The Simpsons' in 1997 and 1998 and also won five Annie Awards, which honor work in animation in film and television. He was fired from 'The Simpsons' in a cost-cutting move in 2017, to the outrage of his collaborators and fans. He sued over his dismissal. Clausen is survived by his wife Sally, children Kaarin, Scott and Kyle, stepchildren Josh and Emily, and 11 grandchildren.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Alf Clausen, Emmy-winning composer who wrote music for ‘The Simpsons' for 27 years, dies at 84
Animated character Homer Simpson is projected on screen at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, Sept. 22, 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) LOS ANGELES — Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer whose music provided essential accompaniment for the animated antics of 'The Simpsons' for 27 years, has died. His daughter Kaarin Clausen told The Associated Press that Alf Clausen died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles after struggling with Parkinson's Disease for about a decade. He was 84. Clausen, who also scored TV series including 'Moonlighting' and 'Alf' ('no relation,' he used to joke) was nominated for 30 Emmy Awards, 21 of them for 'The Simpsons,' winning twice. Al Jean, an early 'Simpsons' writer who was one of the key creative figures on the show in the 1990s, said in a post on X Friday that 'Clausen was an incredibly talented man who did so much for The Simpsons.' While Danny Elfman wrote the show's theme song, Clausen joined the Fox animated series created by Matt Groening in 1990 and provided essentially all of its music until 2017, composing nearly 600 scores and conducting the 35-piece orchestra that played it in the studio. His colleagues said his music was a key component of the show's comedy, but Clausen believed the best way to back up the gags of Homer, Marge Bart and Lisa was by making the music as straight as possible. 'This is a dream job for a composer,' Clausen told Variety, which first reported his death, in 1998. 'Matt Groening said to me very early on, 'We're not a cartoon. We're a drama where the characters are drawn. I want you to score it like a drama.' I score the emotions of the characters as opposed to specific action hits on the screen.' Groening, in a 1996 interview, called him 'one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show.' Clausen was born in Minneapolis and raised in Jamestown, N.D. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1966, and moved to Los Angeles seeking a career in music. In the 1970s he was a musical director on several TV variety shows including 'Donny & Marie.' Clausen worked as an orchestrator for composer Lee Holdridge in his scores for 1980s films including 'Splash' and 'The Beastmaster.' It was Holdridge who first got the composing job on 'Moonlighting,' the late-80s ABC rom-com detective series starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd, but he handed the gig off to Clausen, who would get six Emmy nominations for his music on it. Clausen won his Emmys for 'The Simpsons' in 1997 and 1998 and also won five Annie Awards, which honour work in animation in film and television. He was fired from 'The Simpsons' in a cost-cutting move in 2017, to the outrage of his collaborators and fans. He sued over his dismissal. Clausen is survived by his wife Sally, children Kaarin, Scott and Kyle, stepchildren Josh and Emily, and 11 grandchildren. Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Alf Clausen, Emmy-winning composer who wrote music for 'The Simpsons' for 27 years, dies at 84
Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer whose music provided essential accompaniment for the animated antics of 'The Simpsons' for 27 years, has died. His daughter Kaarin Clausen told The Associated Press that Alf Clausen died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles after struggling with Parkinson's Disease for about a decade. He was 84. Clausen, who also scored TV series including 'Moonlighting' and 'Alf' ("no relation," he used to joke) was nominated for 30 Emmy Awards, 21 of them for 'The Simpsons,' winning twice. Al Jean, an early 'Simpsons' writer who was one of the key creative figures on the show in the 1990s, said in a post on X Friday that 'Clausen was an incredibly talented man who did so much for The Simpsons." While Danny Elfman wrote the show's theme song, Clausen joined the Fox animated series created by Matt Groening in 1990 and provided essentially all of its music until 2017, composing nearly 600 scores and conducting the 35-piece orchestra that played it in the studio. His colleagues said his music was a key component of the show's comedy, but Clausen believed the best way to back up the gags of Homer, Marge Bart and Lisa was by making the music as straight as possible. 'This is a dream job for a composer,' Clausen told Variety, which first reported his death, in 1998. 'Matt Groening said to me very early on, 'We're not a cartoon. We're a drama where the characters are drawn. I want you to score it like a drama.' I score the emotions of the characters as opposed to specific action hits on the screen.' Groening, in a 1996 interview, called him 'one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show.' Clausen was born in Minneapolis and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1966, and moved to Los Angeles seeking a career in music. In the 1970s he was a musical director on several TV variety shows including 'Donny & Marie.' Clausen worked as an orchestrator for composer Lee Holdridge in his scores for 1980s films including 'Splash' and 'The Beastmaster.' It was Holdridge who first got the composing job on 'Moonlighting," the late-80s ABC rom-com detective series starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd, but he handed the gig off to Clausen, who would get six Emmy nominations for his music on it. Clausen won his Emmys for 'The Simpsons' in 1997 and 1998 and also won five Annie Awards, which honor work in animation in film and television. He was fired from 'The Simpsons' in a cost-cutting move in 2017, to the outrage of his collaborators and fans. He sued over his dismissal. Clausen is survived by his wife Sally, children Kaarin, Scott and Kyle, stepchildren Josh and Emily, and 11 grandchildren.
The Independent
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Simpsons boss issues appeal to fans of cult 1990s animation The Critic amid potential revival
The showrunner of The Simpsons has appealed to fans of the cult 1990s animation The Critic amid talk of a potential revival series. The Critic starred sometime Simpsons actor Jon Lovitz as Jay Sherman, an unsightly film critic in the era of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. The series, which originally ran for two seasons between 1994 and 1994, was created by The Simpsons writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, and memorably crossed over with The Simpsons in the latter show's season six episode 'A Star is Burns'. Writing on Twitter, Jean and Lovitz suggested that a revival of The Critic could be in the offing, petitioning fans of the show to make their voices heard. ' Critic Fans!!!! You keep telling me you want it back,' wrote Lovitz. 'I've been trying for years! Well, now, creator Al Jean is on board!!! If you want it back, we need your help! 'Please like this post and spread the word! So we can show the studio, how many people want it!' In a separate post, Jean wrote: 'Just curious … how many would like to see The Critic, with @realjonlovitz return?' The Critic is currently unavailable to stream anywhere in the UK. The series was in fact revived once before, for a 10-episode webseries in 2000 and 2001. The series was noted for its parodying of classic and contemporary movies, and is seen as an influence on later animated comedies such as Family Guy, though the show never enjoyed the popularity of The Simpsons. Jean and Reiss served as showrunners throughout the third and fourth seasons of The Simpsons, widely considered the time when the series entered its creative peak. They left after the fourth season to create The Critic. Jean would return as showrunner for the 13th season of The Simpsons, a position he held until it reached its 33rd. The popular animated series had previously parodied Mike White's black comedy in an episode titled 'The Yellow Lotus'.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Amid a Back-to-the-Future Moment for Animation, Could ‘The Critic' Make a Comeback?
In an era where adult animation enjoys remarkable popularity and longevity, could another classic (albeit short-lived) 1990s animated sitcom make a comeback? Jon Lovitz thinks so. More from The Hollywood Reporter Janelle James Reacts to Ava Being Fired on 'Abbott Elementary' and Last Year's Emmy Snub Grant Ellis Picks Winner in Indecisive 'Bachelor' Finale - and 'Golden' Stars Head to 'Paradise' 'American Dad!' Closing in on Deal to Return to Fox On Friday, the comedian said that he and creator Al Jean are developing a revival of The Critic, the series in which Lovitz played the film critic and Coming Attractions TV host Jay Sherman. 'You keep telling me you want it back. I've been trying for years! Well, now, creator Al Jean is on board!!!' Lovitz posted. Despite hailing from a slew of veterans from The Simpsons (including Jean, Mike Reiss, and James L. Brooks, who produced the show via his Gracie Films), the show never achieved Simpsons-level success, only airing 13 episodes over two seasons on ABC and later Fox. It frequently parodied the entertainment business, with Sherman reviewing fake films (his catchphrase was 'It stinks!'), and his boss, Duke Phillips, not-so-subtly inspired by Ted Turner. Its opening credits, which featured a montage of New York City landmarks, from the Central Park Zoo and Rockefeller Center skating rink to the Guggenheim Museum and World Trade Center, were among the best of its era. But in 2025, adult animation is in a back-to-the-future moment, as long-canceled shows make comebacks, and as staples like The Simpsons (which debuted in 1989), South Park (which debuted in 1997) and Family Guy (which debuted in 1999) remain stalwarts of their respective lineups. King of the Hill, the Fox animated series that ran from 1997 until 2010, is set to return with new episodes on Hulu this year. And American Dad!, the Seth MacFarlane series (which has been on for 20 years!) and that had been running on TBS, is set to return to Fox after years in relative cable obscurity. Shows like Futurama and Beavis and Butt-Head have all been revived, as have slightly younger-skewing animated shows like Clone High and X-Men: The Animated Series (now called X-Men '97). But it may be the return of King of the Hill that should give fans of The Critic optimism. While adult animation has always leaned on the absurd, both The Critic and King of the Hill felt grounded in a way that its peers were not. Sure, The Critic had its fair sure of absurdity (one character was from Easter Island and bore a striking resemblance to a moai statue), but the New York in which it was set felt real in a way that Springfield or Quahog never did. And a time when streaming services are hungry for fresh yet familiar fare (The Critic streams on Tubi, by the way), and with the entertainment business writ large ripe for parody in a cultural era dominated by TikTok and YouTube, the timing might be perfect to bring back Jay Sherman and his crew of misfits. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The Cast of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' Then and Now 'Yellowstone' and the Sprawling Dutton Family Tree, Explained A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
