Allyn Ferguson, American television composer (Barney Miller, Charlie's Angels), has died from natural causes he was , 85

Allyn Malcolm Ferguson Jr. was an American composer, best known for the themes for 1970s television programs Barney Miller and Charlie's Angels, which he co-wrote with Jack Elliott. In its obituary, Variety called him "among the most prolific composers of TV-movie scores in the past 40 years".^[1]

(October 18, 1924 – June 23, 2010)

Ferguson was born in San Jose, California on October 18, 1924. He started playing the trumpet when he was four years old and began playing piano at seven.^[2] After graduating from San Jose State University, he traveled to Paris, where he studied with Nadia Boulanger and at Tanglewood with Aaron Copland.^[2] He established the Chamber Jazz Sextet in the 1950s, combining classical and jazz influences. The group produced "Pictures at an Exhibition: Framed in Jazz" in 1963, a big band-style production of the Modest Mussorgsky piano suite.^[1]

During the 1970s, he collaborated extensively with composer Jack Elliott, creating scores for themes for Barney Miller and Charlie's Angels. University of Southern California music historian Jon Burlingame called the themes "iconic in the sense that most people who were around in that era can easily recall those tunes".^[2] Together with Eliott, he created scores for episodes of Banacek, Fish, Police Story, Starsky and Hutch, S.W.A.T. and The Rookies.^[1][2] The duo also collaborated to form the Foundation for New American Music in 1978.^[1] Ferguson was among the founders of the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles.^[1]

During the 1980s, he produced Emmy Award-nominated scores for April Morning, Ivanhoe, The Last Days of Patton, Master of the Game and Pancho Barnes, winning in 1985 for his work on Camille. He worked on dozens of films for Norman Rosemont, including A Tale of Two Cities, Captains Courageous, Les Misérables, Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask.^[1][2]

He was music director for television presentations of the American Movie Awards, Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Kennedy Center Honors and the Oscars.^[1] Ferguson was musical director for Julie Andrews, Johnny Mathis and for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.^[1]

Ferguson died of natural causes at age 85 on June 23, 2010, at his home in Westlake Village, California. He was survived by his wife, Joline, as well as by three children and six grandchildren.^[1]

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