Herbert Winfield Spencer (April 7, 1905 – September 18, 1992) was a Chilean-born American film and television composer and

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

. Spencer gained industry fame when he teamed up with fellow

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orchestrator

Earle Hagen Earle Harry Hagen (July 9, 1919 – May 26, 2008) was an American composer who created music for movies and television. His best-known TV themes include those for ''Make Room for Daddy'', ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', ''I Spy'', ''That Girl'' and ...

in 1953 to create the Spencer-Hagen Orchestra. They recorded albums for an offshoot of the RCA label "X", and Liberty, and also formed a film scoring service called Music Scoring, Inc. (MSI). Spencer and Hagen scored many early sitcoms and other television shows, including ''

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'', ''

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'', renamed '' The Ray Bolger Show'', ''

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'' starring

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and ''

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''. Earle wrote the underscore, while Herb wrote the arrangements. Occasionally, these chores overlapped, when time permitted. MSI was dissolved about 1960, and Spencer went on to score '' The Joey Bishop Show''. Spencer also co-wrote "The Fishin' Hole", ''

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'' theme. Spencer also helped orchestrate such noted film musicals as ''

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

'' (1942), '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953), ''

Call Me Madam ''Call Me Madam'' is a musical written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The musical is a satire on politics and foreign policy that spoofs postwar America's penchant for lending billions of dollars to ...

'' (1953), '' Carousel'' (1956), '' Funny Girl'' (1968), and '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1969), and received the credit "musical associate" for his work on the film musical '' Man of La Mancha'' (1972). He also composed the music for ''Sol y nieve'' (1962, a Chilean documentary). Later in life, Spencer was known mostly for his collaborations with composer John Williams as orchestrator and arranger (from 1967 until his death) for many of his film scores, such as the original '' Star Wars'' trilogy, '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' and the ''Indiana Jones'' film series. He orchestrated the stage musicals ''

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'' (1974, for André Previn), and '' Thomas And The King'' (1975, for John Williams). Neither show was a success. Spencer was also principal orchestrator for the original version of ''Clash of the Titans'' (1981).

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* 1905 births 1992 deaths American film score composers American male film score composers American television composers American music arrangers 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians Chilean emigrants to the United States {{US-film-bio-stub