Wilbur Hatch (May 24, 1902 – December 22, 1969), was an American music composer who worked primarily in

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. He was born in Mokena, Illinois, and died in Studio City, California.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 122.

Radio

Hatch began working in radio in 1922 as a pianist on KYW (

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

). In 1930 he became director of music on KNX in Los Angeles, California, and on CBS, where he created music for such radio shows as ''Hawk Durango'', ''The General Electric Theater'', '' Frontier Gentleman'', '' December Bride'',Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 97. ''Young Love'', ''Your Home Front Reporter'', '' The Screen Guild Theater'', '' The Whistler'', ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being Decision-making, undecided, or being Doubt, doubtful. In a Drama, dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the wikt:outcome, outcome of a plot (narrative), plot or of the solution t ...

'', '' Meet Corliss Archer'', '' My Favorite Husband'', '' Broadway Is My Beat'', and '' Our Miss Brooks''. Hatch also worked as a conductor and music director for CBS. During the late 1930s and early 1940s he was conductor on ''The Campbell Soup Radio Show.'' He was the musical director and composed the theme for CBS Radio's ''The Whistler'' (1942–55). Additionally, he was the musical director for CBS Radio's ''Broadway Is My Beat'' (1949–54), '' Mayor of the Town'' and ''Luke Slaughter of Tombstone'' (1958).

Television

His most lasting on-screen television credit was for composing some of the music and conducting the Desi Arnaz Orchestra on '' I Love Lucy.'' (In Season #1 Episode #30 "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" as Ricky is about to sing, he calls offstage "Mr. Hatch, if you please.") He was the sole composer for three episodes of ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–56), four episodes of ''

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour ''The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour'' is a collection of thirteen black-and-white one-hour specials airing occasionally from 1957 to 1960 (as opposed to the thirty-minute regular series, '' I Love Lucy''). The first five were shown as specials during ...

'' (1959–60), all 156 episodes of '' The Lucy Show'' (1962–68) and all of the ''

Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's th ...

'' (1968–69) episodes up to the time of his death. He also conceived and conducted the music for the TV versions of '' Our Miss Brooks'' and '' December Bride'', as well as its spin-off, ''

Pete and Gladys ''Pete and Gladys'' is an American sitcom television series starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams that aired on CBS on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time for two seasons, beginning on September 19, 1960. The last episode was ...

''. He also composed music for ''

The Mothers-in-Law ''The Mothers-in-Law'' is an American situation comedy featuring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two women who were friends and next-door neighbors until their children's elopement made them in-laws. The show aired on NBC television from Septemb ...

''. Until the time of his death Hatch was resident musical director of

Desilu Desilu Productions () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Mannix'', ''The Untouchabl ...

Studios, and his work included music director on ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', '' The Untouchables'', and other Desilu productions. In 1970, after Hatch had died,

Marl Young Marl Young (January 29, 1917 – 29 April 2009) was an American musician and arranger who helped with the merger of the all-black and all-white musicians unions in Los Angeles in the early 1950s. He later became the first black music director of a m ...

(1917–2009) became the resident music composer for Lucille Ball Productions, Inc. (including the ''

'' series until it finished in 1974). He composed and conducted the music for season 3 episode 11 of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' – "Still Valley". As the title credits appear a couple of short musical phrases are reminiscent of the ''Star Trek'' theme music.

Other professional activities

Hatch was a member of the executive board of the Composers Guild of America.

Personal life

Hatch attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

to study engineering, but music fully occupied his life. One of the highlights of his college education was that he wrote the music for the annual Blackfriar's show, the University's dramatic organization. In 1922, Hatch graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in chemical engineering and with High Honors and a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

Key. Hatch was married to Margaret Mathews of Grinnell, Iowa. They had three children together: Robert Allen (born in 1932), Nancy Margaret (born in 1934) and Margaret Ann (born in 1944). He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, California.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatch, Wilbur 1902 births 1969 deaths American male composers University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American composers People from Mokena, Illinois 20th-century American male musicians