Sidney Fine, 97; Veteran Composer, Arranger for TV, Films, Broadway

Sidney Fine, 97, a composer, arranger and orchestrator who worked on Broadway and in radio, films and television, died of pneumonia May 20 at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

Fine received an Emmy nomination in 1956 for his orchestrations of Victor Young’s music for the series “Medic.”

He also served as one of the original orchestrators on Meredith Willson’s 1957 Broadway hit “The Music Man.”

While under contract to Revue (later Universal) TV from 1960 to 1971, he wrote the scores for dozens of shows, including episodes of “Wagon Train,” “Laramie,” “The Virginian,” “Alcoa Premiere,” “Tammy” and “The Bold Ones.”

His feature credits include serving as an arranger for Paramount’s 1946 Irving Berlin musical “Blue Skies” and helping orchestrate “Lady and the Tramp” for Walt Disney Studios.

Born in Waterbury, Conn., in 1904, Fine graduated from the University of Connecticut and did postgraduate work at City College of New York and the Yale School of Music.

He played piano for silent movies in the 1920s, served as comedian Henny Youngman’s accompanist, and was a pianist and arranger on radio shows featuring Jack Benny, Dinah Shore, and George Burns and Gracie Allen.