'Addams Family' & 'Green Acres' Composer Vic Mizzy Dies at 93

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/entertainment/music/ent_ap_music_vic_mizzy_who_wrote_addams_family_theme_dies_at_age_93_200910201256043379372

Composer of 'Addams Family' theme dies
Vic Mizzy died Saturday at his home at age 93

Updated: Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009, 7:56 AM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009, 7:55 AM CDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Vic Mizzy, a songwriter who composed the catchy themes for the 1960s sit-coms "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres," has died. He was 93.

Mizzy died Saturday at his home in Bel Air, his manager Jonathan Wolfson said. He said he didn't know the cause of death.

He wrote songs that were recorded by Dean Martin, Doris Day, Perry Como and Billie Holiday in the '40s and '50s. His hits included "Pretty Kitty Blue Eyes," ''My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time," and "With a Hey and a Hi and a Ho-Ho-Ho."

But his most famous work was the theme to "The Addams Family," a tune accented by finger snaps and opening with the cleverly quirky lyrics: "They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're altogether ooky: the Addams family."

Mizzy sang the song himself and overdubbed it three times to give the impression of multiple vocalists. He also directed the title sequence where he asked actors who played members of the Addams family to snap their fingers in a bored way.

The enduring tune is often heard during sports game to rally the home team.

"He was smart enough to demand to own the song, which was unheard of at the time. So any time you go to a Lakers game and they play that song, he made money," Wolfson said.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mizzy learned to play the piano as a child. In his teens, he teamed up with Irving Taylor and began writing songs and sketches for variety shows. They won a pair of radio contests and toured the East Coast vaudeville circuit. While served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, the pair wrote several hit songs, including "Three Little Sisters" and "Take It Easy."

Mizzy later composed and wrote songs for television and film, most recently a song for "Spiderman 2" which ended up on the DVD version of the movie.

He is survived by a brother, daughter and two grandchildren.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/theaddamsfamilylyrics.html

The Addams Family by Vic Mizzy - The Addams Family Lyrics


They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're all together ooky,
The Addams Family.

Their house is a museum
Where people come to see 'em
They really are a scream
The Addams Family.

(Neat)
(Sweet)
(Petite)

So get a witches shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We're gonna pay a call on
The Addams Family.


http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/greenacreslyrics.html
Green Acres by Vic Mizzy - Green Acres Lyrics


Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.

New York is where I'd rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.

...The chores.
...The stores.
...Fresh air.
...Times Square

You are my wife.
Good bye, city life.
Green Acres we are there.

[Nut44x4]

Thank you for many years of laughs! RIP Vic...RIP


http://www.vicmizzy.com/biography.html