Richard Stone (November 27, 1953 – March 9, 2001) was an American composer. He played an important part in the revival of Warner Bros. animation in the 1990s, composing music and songs for ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'', ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...

'', ''

Taz-Mania ''Taz-Mania'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 1991 to 1995, broadcast in the United States on Fox Kids. The show follows the adventures of the ''Looney Tunes'' character Taz (the Tasmanian Devil) in the f ...

'', '' The Plucky Duck Show'', ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part o ...

'', ''

Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American Animated series, animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Pro Logic, D ...

'', '' Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain'', '' Histeria!'', '' The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries'', ''

Freakazoid! ''Freakazoid!'' is an American superhero comedy animated television series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and developed by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. The series chronicles the adventures of the title char ...

'', and '' Road Rovers'', as well as the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment fanfare. Many consider him to be an heir to the style of

Carl W. Stalling Carl William Stalling (November 10, 1891 – November 29, 1972) was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts produced by Wa ...

. After studying cello with Lloyd Smith and Orlando Cole in addition to music theory at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. ...

, Stone went on to earn a degree at Indiana University's

Jacobs School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

. In 1980, he moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

to work as a music editor with such composers as

Georges Delerue Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for '' A Little Romance'' (1980), three C ...

on ''

Platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, secur ...

'' and other films) and

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...

(on '' The Witness)''. He went on to write music for various feature films and television series including the

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' franchise, beginning with the 1978 short film '' Within the Woods''. He has starred in many low- ...

western '' Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat'' (1989), ''

Tripwire A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. Military applications Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines – especially fragm ...

'' (1989), ''

Never on Tuesday ''Never on Tuesday'' is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by Adam Rifkin. The film was released on VHS video rental by Paramount Home Entertainment in 1989 and was originally slated to be re-released in the United States on DVD fo ...

'' (1989), '' Pumpkinhead'' (1988), ''

North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to: Geographic features Australia *North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney **Electoral district of North Shore **North Shore railway line, Sydney *Noosa North Shore, Queensland * North Shore, New So ...

'' (1987), '' Summer Heat'' (1987), and the 1991 miniseries ''In a Child's Name''. Stone worked on John Hughes films including ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer G ...

'' and ''

Sixteen Candles ''Sixteen Candles'' is a 1984 American coming-of-age comedy film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, and Anthony Michael Hall. Written and directed by John Hughes in his directorial debut, it was the first in a string of films Hughes ...

'' (both scored by Ira Newborn). Stone also composed the music for the William Shatner series, ''

Rescue 911 ''Rescue 911'' is an American informational docudrama television series that premiered on CBS on April 18, 1989, and ended on August 27, 1996. The series was hosted by William Shatner and featured reenactments (and occasionally real footage) of ...

''. Stone also scored the PBS Documentary "Medal of Honor" along with Mark Watters. Stone has won several

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for ''

'' and '' Histeria'', as well as Outstanding Original Song, shared with lyricist, writer, creator and senior producer

Tom Ruegger Tom Ruegger () is an American animator and songwriter. Ruegger is known for his association with Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. He also created ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', ''Pinky and the Brain'', and '' His ...

, for the main titles of ''

'' and ''

''. Stone shared many of his music direction/composing awards with his team of composers, who included Steven Bernstein, Carl Johnson, Julie Bernstein, Gordon Goodwin and Tim Kelly. According to ''

'' writer/producer Paul Rugg, crew members fondly referred to Richard as "The Great Stonini", a sort of musical magician whose compositions and orchestrations often raised the quality of the cartoons to unexpected musical and artistic heights.

Death

Stone died at his home in the West Hills area of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

on March 9, 2001, from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

at the age of 47. A memorial service was held in the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. Studios the following month.

References

External links

* 1953 births 2001 deaths American film score composers Daytime Emmy Award winners American male film score composers Musicians from Philadelphia Musicians from Los Angeles Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from pancreatic cancer Curtis Institute of Music alumni Jacobs School of Music alumni 20th-century American composers Animation composers 20th-century American male musicians {{US-composer-20thC-stub