Introduction
Maury Laws (born December 6, 1923 in Burlington, North Carolina) is an American television and film composer.
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 has also done composing work on a 1967 Rankin/Bass theatrical feature, the Halloween-themed Mad Monster Party.
Maury Laws resides in Appleton, Wisconsin. He is active in the arts in Wisconsin.
Filmography
- Marco (1973)
- The Last Dinosaur (1977)
- The Hobbit (1977)
- The Return of the King (1980)
- The Bushido Blade (1981)
- The Flight of Dragons (1982)
- The Wind in the Willows (1987)