‘The Avengers’ composer Laurie Johnson dies at 96

British composer Laurie Johnson whose theme for lsquoThe Avengersrsquo was one of the most famous spy show hallmarks of the 1960s has died Variety reported He died in his sleep on Tuesday in North London according to a family statement He was 96Johnson was one of the last prominent English film composers active in the 1950s 1960s and 1970s He scored lsquoDr Strangeloversquo for Stanley Kubrick as well as lsquoTiger Bayrsquo and the scifi and fantasy films lsquoFirst Men in the Moon and lsquoCaptain Kronos Vampire HunterrsquoBut it was his music for lsquoThe Avengersrsquo the cheerful and elegant teaming of troubleshooters John Steed and Emma Peel winningly performed by Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg that brought him star status Johnson joined the Britishmade series for its fourth season which began airing in America in 1966He remained with the show after Riggrsquos departure and the introduction of Linda Thorson as Tara King in the sixth season Johnson scored almost every episode describing it as an unheardof extravagancersquo He said ldquoThere could be up to 30 minutes of music to be recorded and synchronised each week I must have composed over 50 hours of music during the seriesrdquoWhen the same production team released lsquoThe New Avengersrsquo in 1976 with the returning Macnee teaming up with Gareth Hunt and Joanna Lumley for new adventures Johnson used the opening bars of the original lsquoAvengersrsquo theme but then transitioned into a whole new piece for the series Much of Johnsonrsquos bestremembered music in addition to lsquoThe Avengersrsquo was for British televisionHis recording of the theme for lsquoTop Secretrsquo made the UK record charts in 1961 He also scored the Shirley MacLaine series lsquoShirleyrsquos Worldrsquo and the popular crime drama lsquoThe ProfessionalsrsquoLaurie Johnson was born on February 7 1927 in Hampstead England He attended the Royal College of Music and served four years in the Coldstream Guards A noted bigband arranger he became involved in the British music industry in the 1950s and contributed significant songs to the KPM music collection some of which might be heard decades later in the cartoons Ren and Stimpy and SpongeBob SquarePantsThe family statement read ldquoLauriersquos music touched the lives of millions around the world Throughout his illustrious career he composed numerous iconic scores themes and soundtracks that graced our lives across film TV theatre and radioIt added In this time of mourning we draw strength from the beautiful memories we shared with him We remember Laurie as an extraordinary individual who embraced life with passion and brought joy to so many His kindness compassion and infectious sense of fun and laughter will be profoundly missed by all that knew himrdquoHe is survived by his wife Dot a daughter soninlaw and grandsonThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever