Alf Clausen, Emmy-winning composer who wrote music for 'The Simpsons,' dies at 84

LOS ANGELES -- Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer whose euphony provided indispensable accompaniment for the animated antics of “The Simpsons” for 27 years, has died.

His girl Kaarin Clausen told The Associated Press that Alf Clausen died Thursday astatine his location successful Los Angeles aft struggling with Parkinson's Disease for astir a decade. He was 84.

Clausen, who besides scored TV bid including “Moonlighting” and “Alf” ("no relation," helium utilized to joke) was nominated for 30 Emmy Awards, 21 of them for “The Simpsons,” winning twice.

Al Jean, an aboriginal “Simpsons” writer who was 1 of the cardinal originative figures connected the amusement successful the 1990s, said successful a station connected X Friday that “Clausen was an incredibly talented antheral who did truthful overmuch for The Simpsons."

While Danny Elfman wrote the show's taxable song, Clausen joined the Fox animated bid created by Matt Groening successful 1990 and provided fundamentally each of its euphony until 2017, composing astir 600 scores and conducting the 35-piece orchestra that played it successful the studio.

His colleagues said his euphony was a cardinal constituent of the show's comedy, but Clausen believed the champion mode to backmost up the gags of Homer, Marge Bart and Lisa was by making the euphony arsenic consecutive arsenic possible.

“This is simply a imagination occupation for a composer,” Clausen told Variety, which archetypal reported his death, successful 1998. “Matt Groening said to maine precise aboriginal on, ‘We’re not a cartoon. We’re a play wherever the characters are drawn. I privation you to people it similar a drama.’ I people the emotions of the characters arsenic opposed to circumstantial enactment hits connected the screen.”

Groening, successful a 1996 interview, called him “one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show.”

Clausen was calved successful Minneapolis and raised successful Jamestown, North Dakota. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music successful 1966, and moved to Los Angeles seeking a vocation successful music.

In the 1970s helium was a philharmonic manager connected respective TV assortment shows including “Donny & Marie.”

Clausen worked arsenic an orchestrator for composer Lee Holdridge successful his scores for 1980s films including “Splash” and “The Beastmaster.”

It was Holdridge who archetypal got the composing occupation connected “Moonlighting," the late-80s ABC rom-com detective bid starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd, but helium handed the gig disconnected to Clausen, who would get six Emmy nominations for his euphony connected it.

Clausen won his Emmys for “The Simpsons” successful 1997 and 1998 and besides won 5 Annie Awards, which grant enactment successful animation successful movie and television.

He was fired from “The Simpsons” successful a cost-cutting determination successful 2017, to the outrage of his collaborators and fans. He sued implicit his dismissal.

Clausen is survived by his woman Sally, children Kaarin, Scott and Kyle, stepchildren Josh and Emily, and 11 grandchildren.