William George Loose (June 5, 1910 – February 22, 1991) was an American composer of film, cartoon and television soundtrack music and

stock music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Background ...

al cues.

Early life and career

Born in Michigan, Loose became a staff

musical arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

for an

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

radio station. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he led the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Orchestra in New York. In the 1950s,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

represented several musical libraries. Capitol decided to assemble its own library in 1955, and when

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

turned down the job of a composer of their musical cues, they hired Loose and John Seely. By 1957, Loose's music was played on no less than 24 different television shows a week; and as of the 1960s, some cues of his music were later used in theaters and drive-in theaters. Film companies such as

National Screen Service The National Screen Service (NSS) was a company that controlled the distribution of theatrical advertising materials in the United States from approximately 1940 through the 1980s. It was located in Englewood, New Jersey. NSS was formed in 1920 to ...

and Filmack Studios later placed some of William's cues onto its soundtrack under its snipe works beginning in 1964. Loose's accomplishments led to invitations to compose scores for American television series such as ''

The Sheriff of Cochise ''The Sheriff of Cochise'' is an American police crime drama television series of 79 black-and-white episodes broadcast from 1956 to 1958. The show has two seasons of 39 episodes, and there is an additional standalone episode. Each episode runs ...

'' and '' The Texan''. Loose also was in demand as an arranger for various artists on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. In 1968–69, Loose was music director for ''

The Doris Day Show ''The Doris Day Show'' is an American sitcom which was originally broadcast on CBS from September 1968 until March 1973, remaining on the air for five seasons and 128 episodes. The series is remembered for its multiple format and cast change ...

''. For several decades starting in the 1950s, Loose's composed music for films and television, including such diverse works as the themes to television series ''Trackdown'' (1957-1959) and ''Wanted: Dead or Alive'' (1959-1961), the 1966–1981 game show ''

The Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debuted in 1966 on the ...

'' (1969-1979 version of theme music), and films ''

Tarzan and the Great River ''Tarzan and the Great River'' is a 1967 adventure film starring Mike Henry in his second of three film appearances as Tarzan. The film was produced by Sy Weintraub and Steve Shagan, written by Bob Barbash (from a story by Barbash and Lewis Ree ...

'' (1967) and ''

Tarzan and the Jungle Boy ''Tarzan and the Jungle Boy'' is a 1968 adventure film starring Mike Henry in his third and final appearance as Tarzan. Rafer Johnson and Aliza Gur co-star. The film was produced by Sy Weintraub and Robert Day, written by Stephen Lord (based on ...

'' (1968) starring Mike Henry, many short pieces for

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ot ...

, and music for

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that fea ...

movies including ''

Cherry, Harry & Raquel! ''Cherry, Harry & Raquel!'' is a 1969 American action exploitation film produced and directed by American film director Russ Meyer. Following the success of ''Vixen!'' (1968), the film is notable for the first appearance of actor (and Meyer regu ...

'' (1970), ''

Black Snake Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

'' (1973), ''

Supervixens ''Supervixens'' is a 1975 American film directed by American filmmaker Russ Meyer. The cast features Meyer regulars Charles Napier, Uschi Digard, and Haji. The film also features Shari Eubank (in a dual role) in one of her only two film roles a ...

'' (1975) and '' Up!'' (1976). Some of his stock cues were also used in

George Romero George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

's original ''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven peop ...

'' in 1968. He also scored many cult 1970s films such as ''

The Rebel Rousers ''The Rebel Rousers'' is a 1970 American independent outlaw biker film starring Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, Diane Ladd, Bruce Dern, and Harry Dean Stanton. Filmed in 1967, it did not receive a release until 1970 following the success of ''E ...

'' (1970), ''

The Big Bird Cage ''The Big Bird Cage'' is a 1972 American exploitation film of the "women in prison" subgenre. It serves as a non-sequel follow-up to the 1971 film ''The Big Doll House''. The film was written and directed by Jack Hill, and stars Pam Grier, Sid H ...

'' (1972), ''

The Wrestler The Wrestler may refer to: * ''The Wrestler'' (1974 film), an American film directed by James A. Westman * ''The Wrestler'' (2008 film), an American film directed by Darren Aronofsky * "The Wrestler" (song), a song from the 2008 film written and ...

'' (1974), ''

The Swinging Cheerleaders ''The Swinging Cheerleaders'' is a 1974 comedy-drama film written and directed by exploitation film auteur Jack Hill (who was credited for writing the film as Jane Witherspoon). The film was also released under the titles ''Locker Room Girls'' a ...

'' (1974), ''

Devil Times Five ''People Toys'' is a 1974 American slasher film directed by Sean MacGregor and an uncredited David Sheldon and starring Sorrell Booke, Gene Evans, Shelley Morrison, and Leif Garrett, along with Garrett's real-life sister, Dawn Lyn and their mother ...

'' (1974), '' The Grizzly and the Treasure'' (1975) and '' Mako: The Jaws of Death'' (1976). His later scores included ''

The Man Who Saw Tomorrow ''The Man Who Saw Tomorrow'' is a 1981 documentary-style movie about the predictions of French astrologer and physician Michel de Notredame (Nostradamus). ''The Man Who Saw Tomorrow'' is presented (one might say "hosted") and narrated by Ors ...

'' (1981) and '' Mystery Mansion'' (1983).

Death and legacy

Loose died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 80. The reuse of Loose's cues for the 1990s cartoon series ''

The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' (also known as ''Ren & Stimpy'') is an American animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon, the series aired from August 11, 1991, to Decemb ...

'' brought him a new generation of fans. A tribute to Loose was given in a ''The William Loose Songbook'' a double CD by Richard Peterson. A music company Loose had founded with

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with '' Batgirl'' them ...

called "May-Loo Music" was left to Loose's wife Irma after his death. She was awarded a $1.9 million jury award when a business manager mismanaged her firm.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loose, William 1910 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians American film score composers American male conductors (music) United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American television composers Capitol Records artists Light music composers American male film score composers Male television composers Musicians from Michigan