Allyn Malcolm Ferguson Jr. (October 18, 1924 – June 23, 2010) was an American composer whose works include the themes for 1970s television programsBarney Miller (1975—1982) andCharlie's Angels (1976—1981), which he co-wrote withJack Elliott. In its obituary,Variety called him "among the most prolific composers of TV-movie scores in the past 40 years."[1]
Ferguson was born inSan 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 fromSan Jose State University, he traveled to Paris, where he studied withNadia Boulanger and atTanglewood withAaron Copland.[2]
Ferguson established the Chamber Jazz Sextet in the 1950s, combining classical and jazz influences. Ferguson and his Chamber Jazz Sextet collaborated with the poetKenneth Patchen on a recording in 1957, originally titledKenneth Patchen with the Chamber Jazz Sextet. Behind Patchen's readings, Ferguson and the Chamber Jazz Sextet performed jazz accompaniment which Ferguson composed for eight individual poems. The group produced "Pictures at an Exhibition: Framed in Jazz" in 1963, abig band-style production of theModest Mussorgskypiano suite.[1]
Ferguson is credited, along with Hugh Heller, with writing the San Francisco "Giants Fight Song" in 1961.[3][4][5]
During the 1970s, he collaborated extensively with composer Jack Elliott, co-writing the themes toBarney Miller andCharlie's Angels.University of Southern California music historianJon 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 ofBanacek,Fish,Police Story,Big Hawaii,Starsky & Hutch,S.W.A.T. andThe Rookies.[1][2] The duo also collaborated to form the Foundation for New American Music in 1978.[1] Ferguson was among the founders of theGrove School of Music in Los Angeles.[1]
During the 1980s, he producedEmmy Award-nominated scores forPeter and Paul (1981),Ivanhoe (1982),Master of the Game (1984),The Last Days of Patton (1986),April Morning (1988) andPancho Barnes (1988), winning in 1985 for his work onCamille. He worked on dozens of literary television films forNorman Rosemont, includingThe Count of Monte Cristo (1975),The Man in the Iron Mask (1977),Captains Courageous (1977),The Four Feathers (1978),Les Misérables (1978),All Quiet on the Western Front (1979),Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980) andA Tale of Two Cities (1980).[1][2] He also composed scores for theatrical films, among themSupport Your Local Gunfighter (1971),Get to Know Your Rabbit (1972),Avalanche Express (1979) andBack to the Secret Garden (2001).
He was music director for television presentations of the American Movie Awards, Emmy Award,Grammy Award,Kennedy Center Honors and theOscars.[1] Ferguson was musical director forJulie Andrews,Johnny Mathis and forSteve Lawrence andEydie Gorme.[1]
Ferguson died of natural causes at age 85 on June 23, 2010, at his home inWestlake Village, California. He was married with three children and six grandchildren.[1]
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