The composer worked at the legendary Hanna-Barbera Studios from 1968-72
Ted Nichols, the composer known for working on the music for The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, has died aged 97.
His daughter, Karen Tolleshaug, told The Hollywood Reporter that he had died on January 9 in Auburn, Washington, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Along with Tollesbaug, he is survived by his son David, six grandchildren, and six great-granddaughters.
His most famous work came for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon studio, composing the music for Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The 1969 series was the first in the long-running franchise, and his music would be used on every Scooby-Doo series until 1985. It remains an all-time classic in the cartoon genre.
Outside of that series, Nichols also worked on the final season of The Flintstones, as well as the 1966 spin-off movie, A Man Called Flintstone. He worked at Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1963-72, and was the company's musical director for eight of those years. He was involved with many of their most famous shows, including Space Ghost, Wacky Races, Josie and the Pussycats, and The Pebbles and Bam-Bam Show.
Following his work with the studio, Nichols would compose operas and gospel works, as well as working with church children's groups. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Kevin Sandler, co-editor of the 2024 book Hanna and Barbera Conversations, said: "Ted's music bridged the transition between science-fiction and slapstick programming on Saturday morning as demands for greater social control and regulation of media violence surged in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.'s and Robert Kennedy's assassinations in 1968."
In a tribute post, radio host Eric Alper wrote: "That propulsive, perfectly calibrated underscore that made Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! feel like an actual adventure? That was Ted Nichols."
He concluded: "He lived a full, extraordinary, genuinely remarkable life. He got to hear his music come out of televisions in living rooms across the world for decades. Not many composers get that."
