Thomas Marvin Hatley (April 3, 1905 – August 23, 1986), professionally known simply as Marvin Hatley, was an American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

al director, best known for his work for the

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

studio from 1929 until 1940. Hatley wrote many of the musical cues appearing in the ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'', ''

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

'', and ''

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

'' films. His most memorable composition is "Dance of the Cuckoos" (also known as "Ku-Ku", or "The Cookoo Song"), which serves as Laurel and Hardy's theme song. He was also the "player piano" (performing off-screen) in ''

The Music Box ''The Music Box'' is a Laurel and Hardy short film comedy released in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a long fl ...

'' (1932). His work in Laurel and Hardy's films '' Way Out West'' and ''

Block-Heads ''Block-Heads'' is a 1938 comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Laurel and Hardy shorts ''We ...

'' earned him nominations for the

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...

.Piazza, Jim, & Kinn, Gail (2008). ''The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History'', p. 45. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc. In 1939, Hatley was fired from the Roach studio. At the insistence of

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 10 ...

, however, he did return to score one final Laurel & Hardy film, '' Saps at Sea''. Hatley went on to become a lounge pianist, and often remarked that he earned more money in that career than during his days at the Roach studio. Marvin Hatley was a native of

Reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He died on August 23, 1986, in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

Selected filmography

* ''

I'll Sell My Life ''I'll Sell My Life'' is a 1941 American crime film directed by Elmer Clifton and starring Rose Hobart, Michael Whalen and Joan Woodbury.Fetrow p.224 Cast * Rose Hobart as Dale Layden * Michael Whalen as Mordecai Breen * Stanley Fields a ...

'' (1941) * '' Uncle Joe (1941)

References

External links

*
On-line bio of Hatley
1905 births 1986 deaths American film score composers Hal Roach Studios filmmakers Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American composers Our Gang {{US-film-bio-stub