| Wilbur Hatch | |
|---|---|
 Wilbur Hatch and Desi Arnaz. Marco Rizo sits at the piano | |
| Personal Information | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Born: | May 24, 1902 |
| Birthplace: | Mokena, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 22, 1969 (aged 67) |
| Deathplace: | Studio City, California, U.S. |
| Career/Family Information | |
| Occupation/ Career: |
Composer |
| Years active: | 1922-1969, his death |
| Family Information | |
| Related to: | 3 children |
| Spouse(s): | Margaret Mathews, ?-1969, his death |
| Series connection | |
| Series involved with: | I Love Lucy |
| Role with series: |
Series theme compser/music consultant |
Wilbur "Bill" Hatch (born May 24, 1902- died December 22, 1969) was an American music composer who worked as music consultant on I Love Lucy, as well as Star Trek: The Original Series and numerous other Desilu-produced TV projects.
Radio career[]
Born and raised in Mokena, Illinois, young Wilbur began working in radio in 1922 as a pianist on KYW (Chicago) and moved on to CBS, where he was given the job as music director and conductor of CBS Radio. Wilbur would create music for such radio shows as The Whistler, Suspense, Meet Corliss Archer, My Favorite Husband (on which future I Love Lucy TV series star Lucille Ball co-starred), Broadway Is My Beat, Our Miss Brooks and The Screen Guild Theater.
Television[]
Hatch also worked as a conductor and music director for CBS. During the late 1930s and early 1940s he was conductor on The Campbell Soup Radio Show. He was the musical director and composed the theme for CBS Radio's The Whistler (1942–55). Additionally, he was the musical director for CBS Radio's Broadway Is My Beat (1949–54) and Luke Slaughter of Tombstone (1958). He had a long history with Desilu and Lucille Ball, conducting the orchestra and writing music for I Love Lucy (1951-56), The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1959-60), The Lucy Show (1964-67) and Here's Lucy (1968-69). He also worked on some other television projects.
Family and Personal life[]
Hatch attended the University of Chicago[1] to study engineering, but music fully occupied his life. One of the highlights of his college education was that he wrote the music for the annual Blackfriar's show, the University's dramatic organization. Wilbur graduated from University of Chicago with High Honors and a Phi Beta Kappa Key.
Wilbur was married to Margaret Mathews of Grinell, Iowa. They had three children together: Robert Allen (born in 1932), Nancy Margaret (born in 1934) and Margaret Ann (born in 1944). Hatch died in Studio City, CA at the age of 67.[2] He was interred and is buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Altadena, Los Angeles County, California.
References[]
- ↑ "Tuning Your Mood to Music", The Nebraska State Journal, November 5, 1939, p. 42. Retrieved on May 17, 2016.
- ↑ DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. Template:ISBN. P. 122.
External links[]
- Wilbur Hatch article at Wikipedia
- Wilbur Hatch at Find a Grave Memorial
