Joe Harnell, a Grammy Award-winning pianist, arranger and conductor, died Thursday of heart failure at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Sherman Oaks. He was 80.
Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Harnell began studying piano when he was 6 and started his professional career as a jazz pianist at 14. He graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in music.
He enlisted in the Army Air Forces during World War II, touring with the Glenn Miller Air Force band. After his discharge at the end of the war, he studied composition with Aaron Copland and worked as a music director or accompanist for a number of leading singers. Harnell worked with Peggy Lee in concerts and on several of her albums in the late 1950s and early ’60s. He also worked with Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Pearl Bailey and Frank Sinatra.
From 1967 to 1973, Harnell served as music director for Mike Douglas on his afternoon television talk and variety show. Harnell moved to California and found work scoring for films and television shows, including “Santa Barbara,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “The Bionic Woman,” “Alien Nation” and “V.” He received three Emmy nominations for best dramatic score.
He recorded numerous albums under his own name, including “Bossa Nova Now” for Columbia and “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Hud and Other Movie Themes” for Kapp.
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