Ted Nichols Chimes In

Earlier this month, it was reported that Ted Nichols, the musical mastermind behind shows like Scooby-Doo and more, had passed away in January. I put out a post last week discussing his career, and now, we'll read some words from the man himself. The article below appeared in the April 1st, 1978 edition of The Oregonian. It's a good walkthrough of Nichols' career up to that point, including discussion of his early life, his Hanna-Barbera days, and his opera work.

Opera Plays Portland

By Velma Clyde

    If your name were Theodore Nicholas Sflotsos, and you were a musician who wanted to become known as a composer, what would you do?
    Probably what he did, change his name to Ted Nichols. Then, after a stint in the Air Force, where he was commanding officer of the band school maintained at Sampson Air Force Base in New York, he moved to Hollywood.
    "Anyone who wants to become known as a composer must have a base in either New York or Hollywood," he said in an interview. "I chose Hollywood."
    Nichols' "Pilgrim's Progress," which he calls a chancel opera, was first presented in 1976 in Helsinki, Finland. It has been shown on the West Coast and will be presented in Portland at 8 p.m. Saturday night in the civic Auditorium, sponsored by the Christian Supply Centers.
    Nichols grew up in Spokane, Wash., and spent 20 years writing and composing in Hollywood before moving to Portalnd, where he is director of music and creative arts at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary. 

    "I want to teach and I want to write and that is exactly what I am doing," he said.
    Nichols said he was about 18 years old when he decided he would like to work in religious film making or composing. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Baylor University in Texas, he did graduate work at several universities before heading for Hollywood.
    "To make it in film scoring you have to be in New York or Hollywood ant it was in 1968 that I started to write some religious films for such organizations as Campus Crusade for Christ, World Vision International and two Billy Graham films," he said.
    It was while serving as music minister for the huge Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles that he hooked up with Hanna-Barbera Television Productions.
    "One of the cartoon animators, who worked for Hanna, started to sing in the choir adn he introduced be to Bill Hanna," said Nichols. "At that time they were doing a show called Jonny Quest for CBS. Hanna asked me to write some music for this show and they liked it and I kept writing."
    "Then they asked me to do the Flintstones Christmas special," he said. "The Flintstones was the first adult cartoon television show and it caught on like nothing has ever caught on before or since. People still love the series because of the adult humor." Nichols did the music on that series and about 50 television shows.
    Before he composed "Pilgrim's Progress," from the bookg written by John Bunyan in 1678, he visited Bedford, England, where Bunyan had spent 12 years in jail for criticizing the Church of England. The custodian of the place Bunyan was jailed showed Nichols many details of the Englishman's life.
    "Bunyan was a real renagade before he was converted," said Nichols. "In composing the production, which I call a chancel opera, since I wrote it specifically to be done by the church choirs, I had to pick key points in Bunyan's book. I tried to use his philosophy and to bring it out in the opera."
    Nichols says he finds life in Portland much less hectic than he did in Hollywood. He said he usually does his composing in his living room.
    "At one time my wife, Doris, played cello, but she decided one musician in the family was enough. I think she was right," he said before noting that his eldest of two sons has a music group in Southern california and his daughter is a music major at George Fox College.
    He said his energy peaks at night at it is not uncommon to see him jogging around the streets around midnight. "I have to keep fit and late at night is the best time for me to run," he said.
    "Some people like to golf, some like to play tennis, others fish or swim or play basketball," he said. "My recreation and enjoyment comes from composing. I love to conduct programs and I love to write music."

If you'd like to know more about the work of Ted Nichols, Greg Ehrbar put out an article on his Hanna-Barbera compositions for Cartoon Research. The Hollywood Reporter also put out a report on his passing on Monday. Both are great reads that I definitely recommend giving a look.