Maury Laws (December 6, 1923 – March 28, 2019) was an American television and film composer from

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

Biography

In his teens, Laws performed in local country, jazz and dance bands as a singer and guitarist in his home state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. His career was put on hold 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 ...

, in which he served in the Army. In 1964, he was hired as music director for the television production company Videocraft International (now known as

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

), a post which he held for roughly 20 years. In this capacity, he conducted and scored music for a number of animated features, including ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...

'', ''

Jack Frost Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, ...

'', ''

The Flight of Dragons ''The Flight of Dragons'' is a 1982 animated fantasy film produced and directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. loosely combining the speculative natural history book of the same name (1979) by Peter Dickinson with the novel '' The Dragon ...

'', '' The Daydreamer'', ''

The Wacky World of Mother Goose ''The Wacky World of Mother Goose'' is a 1967 animated musical fantasy film made by Rankin/Bass, written by Romeo Muller and directed by Jules Bass based on Charles Perrault's stories and nursery rhymes. The movie is the first theatrical featu ...

'', ''

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was the ...

'', and ''

Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante. It was written after the success o ...

''. His most widely known work may be an adaptation of

Johnny Marks John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red- ...

' score for the well-known Christmas special ''

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

'', first aired in 1964. Laws also did composing work on a 1967 Rankin/Bass theatrical feature, the Halloween-themed ''

Mad Monster Party? ''Mad Monster Party?'' is a 1967 American stop-motion animated musical comedy film produced by Rankin/Bass Productions for Embassy Pictures. The film stars the voices of Boris Karloff, Allen Swift, Gale Garnett, and Phyllis Diller. It tells the ...

''. Maury Laws died in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

on March 28, 2019.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1964) * ''

Return to Oz ''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is an ...

'' (1964) * '' The Daydreamer'' (1966) * ''

The King Kong Show , commonly referred to as ''The King Kong Show'', is an Anime-influenced animation, anime-influenced series produced by Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, Videocraft International and Toei Animation. American Broadcasting Company, ABC ran the ser ...

'' (1966–1969) * ''Ballad of Smokey the Bear'' (1966) * ''Mad Monster Party?'' (1966, 1967) * ''Cricket on the Hearth'' (1967) * ''

'' (1967) * ''

Mouse on the Mayflower A mouse (plural, : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus mus ...

'' (1968) * ''

The Little Drummer Boy "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a 19 ...

'' (1968) * ''

The Smokey Bear Show ''The Smokey Bear Show'' is an American-Japanese animated television series that aired on ABC's Saturday morning schedule, produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The show features Smokey Bear, the icon of the United States Forest Service, who was ...

'' (1969–1970) * ''

'' (1969) * ''

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians ''The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians'' is a 1970 American animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. After the Christmas special ''Frosty the Snowman'' (1969), it was Rankin/Bass' second hand-drawn animated work to be outsourced to O ...

'' (1970) * '' The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show'' (1970–1971) * ''The Tomfoolery Show'' (1970–1971) * ''

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was the ...

'' (1970) * ''

Here Comes Peter Cottontail ''Here Comes Peter Cottontail'' is a 1971 Easter stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, currently distributed by Universal Television and based on the 1957 novel ''The Easter Bunny That Overslept'' by Priscil ...

'' (1971) * ''

The Jackson 5ive The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

'' (1971–1972) * '' The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes'' (1972) * ''

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

'' (1972) * ''

Mad Mad Mad Monsters ''Mad Mad Mad Monsters'' is a 1972 traditional animated comedy film produced by Rankin/Bass Productions in the United States and animated overseas by Mushi Production in Japan. The special aired on September 23, 1972 as an episode of ''The ABC Sat ...

'' (1972) * ''

Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid ''Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid'' is a 1972 American traditional animated comedy film produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The special aired on October 14, 1972 as part of ''The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie''. Plot A guardian angel agrees to h ...

'' (1972) * ''The Red Baron'' (1972) * ''

Festival of Family Classics ''Festival of Family Classics'' is a Rankin/Bass animated anthology series that originally aired between 1972 and 1973. The show originally aired in syndication. It was re-aired 1 November 2005 on the Boomerang channel and on 16 June 2011 via the ...

'' (1972–1973) * ''That Girl in Wonderland'' (1973) * ''

Marco Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish c ...

'' (1973) * '' 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'' (1974) * ''

The Year Without a Santa Claus ''The Year Without a Santa Claus'' is a 1974 stop motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name. It is narrated by Shirley Booth (her final ...

'' (1974) * '' The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow'' (1975) * ''

Rudolph's Shiny New Year ''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' is a 1976 American-Japanese Christmas and New Year's stop motion animated television special and a standalone sequel to the 1964 special ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The ...

'' (1975, 1976) * ''

The First Easter Rabbit ''The First Easter Rabbit'' is an animated Easter television special that premiered April 9, 1976 on NBC and later aired on CBS. Created by Rankin/Bass Productions, it tells the story of the Easter Bunny's origin. The special is loosely based on t ...

'' (1976) * ''

Frosty's Winter Wonderland ''Frosty's Winter Wonderland'' is a 1976 animated Christmas television special and a standalone sequel to the 1969 special '' Frosty the Snowman'', produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and animated by Topcraft. It is the second television special ...

'' (1976) * ''The Little Drummer Boy, Book II'' (1976) *''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...

'' (1976-1981) * ''

The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town ''The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town'' is a 1977 musical Easter television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, using their "Animagic" stop motion animation. It reunites the writer Romeo Muller. designer Paul Coker Jr., and narrator Fred As ...

'' (1977) * ''

The Last Dinosaur is a 1977 Japanese/American tokusatsu co-production, co-directed by Alexander Grasshoff and Tsununobu Kotani (the latter billed as Tom Kotani),Galbraith IV, Stuart (1994). ''Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films''. McFarland, p. 379. ...

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1977) * '' Nestor the Long–Eared Christmas Donkey'' (1977) * ''

The Stingiest Man in Town is a 1978 animated Christmas musical television special based on Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. It was created by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, and features traditional animation rather than the stop motion animatio ...

'' (1978) * ''

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July ''Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July'' (titled on-screen as ''Rudolph and Frosty: Christmas in July'', or simply ''Rudolph and Frosty'') is an American-Japanese Christmas/Independence Day television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions ...

'' (1979) * ''

The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, whi ...

'' (1979, 1980) * ''

Pinocchio's Christmas ''Pinocchio's Christmas'' is a 1980 Christmas stop motion television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions that is a holiday adaptation of the 1883 novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi. The special was originally aired on A ...

'' (1980) * '' The Bushido Blade'' (1981) * ''The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold'' (1981) * ''

'' (1982) * ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

'' (1985, 1987)

References

External links

*
Maury Laws
at the Internet Off Broadway Database
Biography on SpaceAgePop.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laws, Maury 1923 births 2019 deaths American film score composers American television composers American male film score composers Animated film score composers Male television composers Musicians from North Carolina Musicians from Wisconsin People from Appleton, Wisconsin People from Burlington, North Carolina Rankin/Bass Productions Songwriters from North Carolina Songwriters from Wisconsin American male songwriters