Milton Delugg was a composer and musician who worked in radio, television and film.
He was an accomplished accordion player, and his polka composition “Hoop-Dee-Doo” was a hit for Perry Como, and was used on The Gong Show when the winner was chosen. Another one of his compositions, “Roller Coaster,” was used as the theme song for the popular CBS panel show What’s My Line? His other well known songs were “Orange Colored Sky,” which became a hit for Nat King Cole, and the hit “Rave On!” which he produced for Buddy Holly.
Milton Delugg was a composer and musician who worked in radio, television and film.
He was an accomplished accordion player, and his polka composition “Hoop-Dee-Doo” was a hit for Perry Como, and was used on The Gong Show when the winner was chosen. Another one of his compositions, “Roller Coaster,” was used as the theme song for the popular CBS panel show What’s My Line? His other well known songs were “Orange Colored Sky,” which became a hit for Nat King Cole, and the hit “Rave On!” which he produced for Buddy Holly.
Delugg also had a long career working with NBC, beginning in 1950, when he became the musical director, bandleader and accordionist on Broadway Open House. The show was considered a precursor to Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, which Delugg would also work on as the musical director from 1965 to 1966.
He also collaborated on several projects with producer Chuck Barris, for whom he arranged the theme to The Newlywed Game in 1966, worked as the musical director of The Gong Show and recorded a new version of the theme song for The Dating Game. In addition, Delugg worked on and off as the musical director for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, up until 2013, when he was 94.
Delugg died April 6, 2015, in Los Angeles. He was 96.
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