Maury Laws

**Maury Laws** (December 6, 1923 – March 28, 2019) was an American television and movie composer from Burlington, North Carolina.

## Biography

In his teens, Laws performed in local country, jazz and dance bands as a singer and guitarist in his home state of North Carolina.  His career was put on hold during World War II, in which he served in the Army.

In 1964, he was hired as music director for the television production company Videocraft International (now known as Rankin/Bass), a post which he held for roughly 20 years.  In this capacity, he conducted and scored music for a number of animated features, including _The Hobbit_, _Jack Frost_, _The Flight of Dragons_, _The Daydreamer_, _The Wacky World of Mother Goose_, _Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town_,  and _Frosty the Snowman_.  His most widely known work may be an adaptation of Johnny Marks' score for the well-known Christmas special _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_, first aired in 1964.  Laws also did composing work on a 1967 Rankin/Bass theatrical feature, the Halloween-themed _Mad Monster Party?_.

Maury Laws died in Appleton, Wisconsin on March 28, 2019.

## Filmography

- _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ (1964)
- _Return to Oz_ (1964)
- _The Daydreamer_ (1966)
- _The King Kong Show_ (1966–1969)
- _Ballad of Smokey the Bear_ (1966)
- _Mad Monster Party?_ (1966, 1967)
- _Cricket on the Hearth_ (1967)
- _The Wacky World of Mother Goose_ (1967)
- _Mouse on the Mayflower_ (1968)
- _The Little Drummer Boy_ (1968)
- _The Smokey Bear Show_ (1969–1970)
- _Frosty the Snowman_ (1969)
- _The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians_ (1970)
- _The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show_ (1970–1971)
- _The Tomfoolery Show_ (1970–1971)
- _Santa Claus is Comin' to Town_ (1970)
- _Here Comes Peter Cottontail_ (1971)
- _The Jackson 5ive_ (1971–1972)
- _The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes_ (1972)
- _The Osmonds_ (1972)
- _Mad Mad Mad Monsters_ (1972)
- _Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid_ (1972)
- _The Red Baron_ (1972)
- _Festival of Family Classics_ (1972–1973)
- _That Girl in Wonderland_ (1973)
- _Marco_ (1973)
- _'Twas the Night Before Christmas_ (1974)
- _The Year Without a Santa Claus_ (1974)
- _The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow_ (1975)
- _Rudolph's Shiny New Year_ (1975, 1976)
- _The First Easter Rabbit_ (1976)
- _Frosty's Winter Wonderland_ (1976)
- _The Little Drummer Boy, Book II_ (1976)
- _The Muppet Show_ (1976-1981)
- _The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town_ (1977)
- _The Last Dinosaur_ (1977)
- _The Hobbit_ (1977)
- _Nestor the Long–Eared Christmas Donkey_ (1977)
- _The Stingiest Man in Town_ (1978)
- _Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July_ (1979)
- _The Return of the King_ (1979, 1980)
- _Pinocchio's Christmas_ (1980)
- _The Bushido Blade_ (1981)
- _The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold_ (1981)
- _The Flight of Dragons_ (1982)
- _The Wind in the Willows_ (1985, 1987)

## Other websites

- Maury Laws  at the Internet Off Broadway Database
- Biography on SpaceAgePop.com

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Maury Laws
- **birth place**: Burlington, North Carolina
- **death place**: Appleton, Wisconsin
- **occupation**: composer
- **years active**: 1934–1985
- **spouse**: Karen (/Krumm) Rutledge