Mauro Bruno, 78; Emmy-Nominated Musician

Mauro Bruno, trumpet player, music arranger and composer of classical works and scores for films and such television programs as “Barnaby Jones,” has died. He was 78.

Bruno died Oct. 3 of lung cancer at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

The musician was nominated for Emmys for his work on a television special, “The Magic of David Copperfield VI”; the series “Barnaby Jones”; and a segment of “Hallmark Hall of Fame” titled “The Rivalry.”

Born in Boston, Bruno studied trumpet and piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Md., and earned a bachelor’s degree in composition at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

While in school, he played trumpet with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington and arranged music for the inaugural balls of Presidents Harry S. Truman in 1949 and Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.

Later, he became an arranger and conductor for the nightclub acts of Ray Bolger, Pinky Lee and others in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He also arranged music for recordings by the Platters and Tina Turner.

Earning his own credits as composer, he scored several low-budget motion pictures in the 1970s, including “J.D. and the Salt Flat Kid” and “Smokey and the Good Time Outlaws.”

Bruno was perhaps best known for his work on police television series in the 1970s and 1980s, notably “Barnaby Jones,” “Streets of San Francisco” and “Police Story.”

Among Bruno’s prodigious output were some two dozen classical pieces, many of which were recorded. Widowed last June by the death of his wife, Betty, Bruno is survived by one son, Christian of Silver Springs, Md.; one stepson, Michael Malone of Sherman Oaks; four grandchildren; three sisters; and one brother.