Alf Clausen who composed The Simpsons For almost three decades, dead are 84 years old.
The news was announced by Clausen’s daughter Kaarin, who said he died Thursday (May 29) after suffering from Parkinson’s disease for almost 10 years.
Clausen Sack 30 Emmys for his work as a composer throughout his life and worked on Moonlight and Alf Before moving to The SimpsonsLaunched in 1999.
Al Jean who is one of The Simpsons‘s longest served authors, hailed Clausen who wrote on X/Twitter:’ Clausen was an incredibly talented man who did so much for The Simpsons. “
While it was Danny Elfman who created the animated series iconic theme song, Clausen was verved by creator Matt Groening to compose the music shown in each episode until 2017.
To pull the score that has become so synonymous with the show and improves the funny actions performed by characters, including Homer, Marge and Bart, Clausen would perform a 35-piece orchestra.
His colleagues said his music was a key component of the show’s comedy, but Clausen thought the best way to back up gags was by making the music as straight as possible.
Groening formerly called Clausen “one of the non -recognized treasures in the show.”
“This is a dream job for a composer,” Clausen once told Variety in 1998. “Matt Groening said to me very early, ‘We are not a cartoon. We are a drama where the characters are drawn. I want you to score it as a drama.’ I score the feelings of the characters as opposed to specific action hits on screen.
He was dropped from The Simpsons In 2017 after 27 years, reportedly over budget cuts – news that led to screams from the show’s dedicated fanbase. Clausen launched lawsuits against the decision.
Clausen was born in Minneapolis and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota. He trained from Berklee College of Music in 1966 and moved to Los Angeles and sought a career in music.
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In the 1970s, he was a musical director on several TV -shit exhibitions including Donny & Marie.
Clausen worked as orchestrator for composer Lee Holdridge in his scores for the 1980s film including Splash and Beastmaster.
It was Holdridge who first got the composing job on MoonlightABC Rom-Com Detective Series in the late eighties starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd, but he handed out performance 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 he also won five Annie Awards, who honor the work of animation in film and television.
He is survived by his wife Sally, Children Kaarin, Scott and Kyle, St. Josh and Emily and 11 grandchildren.
Further reporting from agencies