Post by George WK Newman on Jun 4, 2009 13:15:14 GMT -5
from Variety;
www.variety.com/article/VR1118004511.html?categoryid=3640&cs=1&nid=2565
Nearly 35 years ago, producers Thomas Miller and Edward Milkis put together a 20-minute presentation to convince ABC that two guest stars on “Happy Days” could be spun off into their own series.They shot just a few new scenes of Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams as “Laverne & Shirley” but, recalls composer Charles Fox, they insisted on a 75-second main-title sequence with a fully produced song, “so, right from the beginning, people would know what it was about.”
Fox and lyricist Norman Gimbel came up with “Making Our Dreams Come True.” It became a top-25 hit — one of many TV theme hits for Fox, who won an Emmy for “Love, American Style” and wrote themes for “Happy Days,” “The Love Boat,” “Angie” and others.
Today a composer is happy to get 10 seconds on a broadcast skein, and hit TV themes are rare.
Over the past 15 years, the broadcast networks have demanded shorter main-title sequences, preferring to jump into the action faster and thus reduce the chance that viewers will flip to another channel.
www.variety.com/article/VR1118004511.html?categoryid=3640&cs=1&nid=2565
Nearly 35 years ago, producers Thomas Miller and Edward Milkis put together a 20-minute presentation to convince ABC that two guest stars on “Happy Days” could be spun off into their own series.They shot just a few new scenes of Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams as “Laverne & Shirley” but, recalls composer Charles Fox, they insisted on a 75-second main-title sequence with a fully produced song, “so, right from the beginning, people would know what it was about.”
Fox and lyricist Norman Gimbel came up with “Making Our Dreams Come True.” It became a top-25 hit — one of many TV theme hits for Fox, who won an Emmy for “Love, American Style” and wrote themes for “Happy Days,” “The Love Boat,” “Angie” and others.
Today a composer is happy to get 10 seconds on a broadcast skein, and hit TV themes are rare.
Over the past 15 years, the broadcast networks have demanded shorter main-title sequences, preferring to jump into the action faster and thus reduce the chance that viewers will flip to another channel.