Maury Laws

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 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, The Flight of Dragons, and Frosty the Snowman. His most widely known score may be that of the well-known Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, first aired in 1964 and the Halloween Mad Monster Party (1969).