Composer Hoyt Curtin dies at 78

December 3, 2000

By VARIETY STAFF

Composer Hoyt Curtin, who wrote the theme song for "The Flintstones" as well as those of countless other Saturday morning cartoons, died Dec. 3 in a Thousand Oaks hospital following a long illness. He was 78.

In addition to "The Flintstones," Curtin wrote music for more than 250 Hanna-Barbera shows, including "The Smurfs," "The Jetsons," "Yogi Bear" and "Jonny Quest." One of the seminal influences in cartoon music, Curtin's work became as recognizable and beloved as the cartoons themselves.

"Hoyt was the king of jingle-making," Warner Bros. Animation president Jean MacCurdy said. "His strong suit was coming up with the themes that almost anyone on the street could sing at the drop of a hat. He was really quite remarkable."

The popularity of Curtin's music transcended Saturday morning TV: In 1986 a version of his "Jetsons" theme appeared as high as No. 9 on Billboard's retail sales charts. A 1995 compilation CD entitled "Saturday Morning Cartoon's Greatest Hits" featured versions of Curtin's songs recorded by artists including Julianna Hatfield, Tanya Donnelly and the Reverend Horton Heat.

Curtin's favorite, however, was "The Flintstones," which was used in the 1994 film of the same name starring John Goodman. "It's a catchy little tune," Curtin told the Los Angeles Times in 1994. "Just a simple thing arranged for jazz and singers."

Curtin was born in Downeybut soon moved to San Bernardino, where he began playing piano at the age of 5 and won a singing contest sponsored by a movie theater. In high school he had his own orchestra and played in several jazz bands. Following action in the Navy aboard a destroyer in the Pacific during WWII, Curtin attended USC, where he earned his masters degree in music.

Though initially intending to compose music for the movies, Curtin ended up working on television commercials. He was scoring a Schlitz beer ad when he first met cartoon legends William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who were producing the spot, at MGM in 1957.

The meeting sparked one of the longest and most fruitful collaborations in cartooning. Just weeks after finishing the commercial, Hanna and Barbera called Curtin and asked him if he would consider writing the score for their new cartoon, "Ruff and Reddy." Curtin, who in 1953 had worked on "Mr. Magoo" shorts for theaters, agreed.

The collaboration, handled completely through the telephone, was simplicity itself. Hanna and Barbera would call Curtin and read him the lyrics they had written. Curtin would compose the score as quickly as possible, call the pair back, and sing it to them. "Ruff and Reddy's" theme took the composer less than five minutes.

For the next three decades, Curtin, Hanna and Barbera worked together at Hanna-Barbara, the company the animators had founded in 1957. Curtin served as the company's music director and enjoyed a close relationship with the pair.

"Few people ever have the chance to work with a genius," Joe Barbera said in a 1986 interview. "All of us at Hanna-Barbera who worked with Hoyt are among those few."

Curtin is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; his son, Christopher; his brother, John; and three grandchildren.