Survived by his second wife, Frances; his two children, Scott and Linda; and two grandchildren.
He majored in music at UC Berkeley.
His first job in Hollywood was at NBC -- as a parking-lot attendant. In 1942, he was hired as a music director at the predecessor of ABC, but was inducted into the Army later that year.
During WWII, he played trombone and wrote music for a military band, and worked with the Armed Forces Radio Service.