Guide to the Joe Harnell collection (ARA) PA Mss 258
Original collection processing and arrangement by Thousand Oaks Public Library Staff. Electronic finding and additional processing
and description by Jacob Robin, 2023. Latest revision 2023 December 14.
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara 93106-9010
Business Number: Phone: (805) 893-3062
Fax Number: Fax: (805) 893-5749
special@library.ucsb.edu
2023 December 14
Title: Joe Harnell collection (ARA)
Identifier/Call Number: PA Mss 258
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear Feet;
(1 record box, 1 document box)
Creator:
Harnell, Joe (1924-2005)
Date (inclusive): 1965-2000
Date (bulk): 1982 October 11-1988 November 01
Abstract: The Joe Harnell collection consists of 1.5 linear feet dating from 1965-2000, with the bulk of the material from 1982-1988.
A majority of the materials are scripts that Harnell collected while composing film scores; with the remaining material consisting
of his autobiography
Counterpoint, a DVD from an episode of
The Mike Douglas Show, and a CD of film music that Harnell composed and conducted.
Joe Harnell (1924-2005) spent his life composing and performing music in various fields of entertainment ranging from military
bands, an accompanist for singers such as Judy Garland, Maurice Chevalier, and Marlene Dietrich, a jingle writer, a musical
director for talk shows, and working in Hollywood composing film scores. His accomplishments were represented with a Grammy
Award for his arrangement of "Fly Me To the Moon" and an Emmy nomination for his musical work on the show
V. Near the end of his career he became a faculty member at USC's Thornton School of Music.
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through
the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to
the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator
and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.
All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department
of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of
California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is
not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright
owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Joe Harnell collection, PA Mss 258. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara
Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Acquisition Information
This collection forms part of the American Radio Archives (ARA), which documents the early history of broadcasting, with an
emphasis on California. The ARA was formerly housed at the Thousand Oaks Public Library and was owned and administered by
the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation. It was transferred to the UCSB Library in 2021.
Biographical Note
Joe Harnell, born on August 2, 1924, was an American composer, musician, and music arranger. He began playing piano at six
years old and performed in his father's ensemble at the age of fourteen. He attended the University of Miami in the early
1940s and then joined the Air Force in 1943, where he played with Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces Band. Throughout his time
in the army he studied music with Nadia Boulanger while stationed in Paris and William Walton while at Trinity College of
Music in London. After he was discharged from the Air Force in 1946, he studied at Tanglewood under Aaron Copland and Leonard
Bernstein.
Harnell's music career began as a for-hire pianist in New York City where he played mostly pop and jazz music. In the 1950s
he played in Lester Lanin's band and found work as an accompanist for singers such as Judy Garland, Maurice Chevalier, and
Marlene Dietrich. In 1963, Harnell achieved his biggest accomplishment with his arrangement of "Fly Me to the Moon" where
he won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
Joe Harnell began his television musical career as an integral part of the
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, where he would play piano with many guests at the end of each episode. When the
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show ended in 1963, Harnell wrote jingles for Grey Advertising in 1964 and in 1967 became the musical director for
The Mike Douglas Show. In 1973 Harnell began writing film scores for shows like
The Bionic Woman,
The Incredible Hulk,
Alien Nation and
V. He is also credited with writing the theme music for the NBC daytime soap,
Santa Barbara.
In 2000, Joe Harnell co-authored his autobiography
Counterpoint with Ira Skutch, just 5 years before his death on July 14, 2005, in Sherman Oaks, California.
Scope and Content
The Joe Harnell collection consists of one record box and one document box mostly containing scripts of shows that Harnell
had worked on in the 1980s. Also included are a copy of his autobiography,
Counterpoint, which he co-authored with Ira Skutch, a DVD recording of a 1970 episode of
The Mike Douglas Show and a CD of film music that was composed and conducted by Joe Harnell between 1965 and 1990.
Arrangement
The materials in this collection are arranged into two series by type.
Series 1: Scripts; Series 2: Other Materials.
Related Archival Material
Forms part of the American Radio Archives (ARA).
Separated Materials
Harnell, Joe and Ira Skutch.
Counterpoint: The Journey of A Music Man. Xlibris Corporation, 2000.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Television scripts -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Motion picture plays -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Screenplays
box 1, folder 1
Cagney and Lacey, "Partners" (Patricia Green)
1984 January 27
box 1, folder 2
Cagney and Lacey, "The Bounty Hunter" (Steve Brown)
1984 February 23
box 1, folder 3
The Complete Lyrics of Conrad Doyle (Lawrence Alexander and Stephen Kandel)
undated
box 1, folder 4
Hot Pursuit, "Home is the Heart", Part 1 (Craig Buck)
1984 August 07
box 1, folder 5
Hot Pursuit, "Home is the Heart", Part 1 (Craig Buck)
1984 August 07
box 1, folder 6
Hot Pursuit, "Gillian" (Peggy Goldman)
1984 June 21
box 1, folder 7
Hot Pursuit, "Portrait of a Lady Killer" (Peggy Goldman)
1984 August 29
box 1, folder 8
Hot Pursuit, "Portrait of a Lady Killer" (Peggy Goldman)
1984 September 05
box 1, folder 9
Hot Pursuit, "Identity Crisis" (Renee and Harry Longstreet)
1984 October 05
box 1, folder 10
Hot Pursuit, "Dead Game" (Renee and Harry Longstreet)
1984 June 14
box 1, folder 11
Hot Pursuit, "The Okay Chorale" (Craig Buck)
1984 September 08
box 1, folder 12
Hot Pursuit, "The Okay Chorale" (Craig Buck)
1984 September 11
box 1, folder 13
In The Heat of the Night, "The Family Secret" (Nancy Bond)
1988 September 27
box 1, folder 14
In The Heat of the Night, "Prisoners" (Lee Maddux)
1988 November 01
box 1, folder 15
Phenomena (Kenneth Johnson and Brian Grazer)
1984 January 09
box 1, folder 16
Shadow Chasers "Parts Unknown" (Linda Campanelli and M.M. Shelly Moore)
1985 September 19
box 1, folder 17
Shadow Chasers "How Green was My Murder" (Susan Goldberg and Bob Rosenfarb)
1985 October 17
box 1, folder 18
Shadow Chasers "Let's Make A Deal" (Peggy Goldman)
1985 October 02
box 1, folder 19
Too Young To Die (formerly "Teen Agent") (Kenneth Johnson)
1985 September 11
box 1, folder 20
A Place to Call Home Inspired by the life of Vivian Clark (Formerly: Coonawarra) (Carol Sobieski and Jeri Taylor)
1986 March 03
box 1, folder 21
The Stepford Children (Bill Bleich, Les Carter and Susan Sisko)
1986 November 24
box 1, folder 22
The Liberators (Kenneth Johnson)
1986 August 25
box 2, folder 1
V, "The Conclusion", Part 1 (Peggy Goldman, Kenneth Johnson, Craig Buck and Diane Frolov)
1983 September 14
box 2, folder 2
V, "The Conclusion", Part 2 (Peggy Goldman, Kenneth Johnson, Craig Buck and Diane Frolov)
1983 September 14
box 2, folder 3
V, "The Conclusion", Part 2 (Peggy Goldman, Kenneth Johnson, Craig Buck and Diane Frolov)
1983 October 06
box 2, folder 4
V, "The Conclusion", Part 3 (Peggy Goldman, Kenneth Johnson, Craig Buck and Diane Frolov)
1983 September 14
box 2, folder 5
V, "The Conclusion", Part 3 (Peggy Goldman, Kenneth Johnson, Craig Buck and Diane Frolov)
1983 October 07
box 2, folder 6
V, "Episode Two" (Renee and Harry Longstreet)
1983 April 29
box 2, folder 7
V, (Kenneth Johnson)
1982 October 11
box 1
An Episode of
The Mike Douglas Show featuring Louie Armstrong, Pearl Bailey and Joe Harnell
1970 March 03
box 1
The Film Music of Joe Harnell
1965-1990
