"Addams Family" Theme Song Writer Dies

Vic Mizzy, the Brooklyn-born writer of the catchy theme songs to The Addams Family and Green Acres, passed away in Los Angeles Saturday night at the age of 93. The songwriter also had dozens of #1 pop and novelty hits, and his songs were performed by artists including Dean Martin, Doris Day, Perry Como, Billie Holiday and the Andrews Sisters.

Mizzy liked to joke about the TV themes that made him famous, saying: "If people only remembered me for the themes to The Addams Family and Green Acres, I wouldn't care. Two snaps got me a Bel Air mansion." Mizzy was a savvy businessman who held on to the publishing copyrights to his songs - including those famous theme songs.

Mizzy started his career at age 14, after learning how to play music from his family's player piano, when he won a pair of radio contests and toured the vaudeville circuit on the east coast. He wrote songs for some of the biggest stars in show business through the '40s and '50s, and NBC head of programming had Mizzy write scores for several dramatic TV shows after the war. He was still involved in the music business later in life, when in 2004, he released an album of his best-known compositions in Songs for the Jogging Crowd, and started his own record label. He also contributed a theme song for Spiderman 2, which ended up on the DVD version of the movie.