This has been very difficult for me to write. As some of you know, I tend to leave my "other" real persona rather hidden, and have "Tatia" out front here.
But "I" wanted to share my love and memories for Earle Hagen with you. Not only have we all lost a musical master, the man who breathed life and emotion into I SPY, but I have lost an adored friend.
Ernie Frankel (Apollo, Philotimo, etc.) was Earle's dear friend for over 55 years. He delivered a beautiful and heartfelt eulogy for Earle. Here is a small part of it, and it expresses my feelings so perfectly.
We are —all of us—his family, his family of friends ... And all of us share the joy of having been part of his life, of having loved and been loved by a man who enriched our lives with his treasured gifts of warmth and wit and talent. We each retain a memory, an idea, a secret that makes us part of his life, and makes him forever a part of ours ... And he always gave and loved and lived to the fullest.
I was so very, very fortunate to have known Earle personally for several years. He touched and enriched by life so deeply by his wondrous friendship. He was so bright and cool and funny and charming and had an acerbic wit and a sparkling, devilish twinkle in his eye. He was so knowledgeable on so many topics - besides music and the entertainment world, he was always on top of political stories and computers and the state of the world, etc., etc. AND he was hands-down the world's best shopper!! He told amazing stories and anecdotes - he had seen so much and done so much and known so many people. But he was also very astute in his judgments and opinions of things - a wise man, who was not fooled or taken in easily. Discussing "any" thing with him was a total joy!! And we had many wonderful discussions over the years.
I first met Earle through the FORUM ... yup, the power of these pages right here! Three of us "ladies" bonded closely when we first met on the FORUM several years ago - myself, SAM-than McLean from Canada (who wrote the article on Earle's music for Film Score Monthly), and Chantal from Ireland (who created Earle's website). At that time, Chantal was just putting together the beginnings of Earle's website as a surprise for one of his birthdays. She had his fax number, I still don't know how. She asked if I could fax the early material she had for him, since it was easier doing this from the U.S. I "Americanized" her page sizes, etc. and sent it off to him, with
her return information on everything.
I was totally shocked when my phone rang a bit later, with Earle on the other end. I hadn't given a thought that "my" phone number was on the bottom of the fax transmittal sheet, since all the return information was for Chantal. After my initial surprise, we had a "great" conversation - Earle had this amazing knack of putting everyone at ease. He was so interested in people, and he always drew them out. When Earle spoke to you, you knew he was connecting "with
you." A rare and wonderful gift ....
After that, the e-mails began to fly between the 4 of us - Canada, Ireland, Earle in California, and myself on the east coast. Soon into our correspondence, Earle informed me that my last name was the same as his mother's maiden name - and that his family was from Chicago, where he was born. And that is also where my family and my husband's family is from, and where I was born. So I immediately and officially and permanently became "Cuz" forever after that ....
When Earle's beloved wife of 59 years, Lou, passed away, our e-mails were there for him. We learned later (the three of us) how much our correspondences meant to him at that time. SAM and I finally decided we were going to take a trip out to California together - to see Earle and to check out those I SPY locations (and meet some I SPY friends) in San Francisco ... an adventure!
And it was!! When we told Earle our plans to come out, he greeted us with open arms. We spent several days together - went out for dinner, met his friends. One evening, we sat in his den and he played his copy of the theme song from "Tatia" for us - I will never, never forget that night! I'll hold that memory dear in my heart always. Another evening he played the DVD of "Mainly on the Plains" for us (one of his favorites), and talked us through the episode - the problems and production challenges he faced with the sound and music and mikes and locale. It was a magical evening.
On other visits, and there were many (some with SAM, some with our husbands, some all together), he played the WAR LORD for us and again talked about the technical challenges and how music was meant to heighten the emotion of a story - where and how it was most effective, adapting the music of other cultures for the American palate, but remaining true to their origins, and the adventures of gathering that music on trips abroad .... wonderful, wonderful stories and insights, especially about working with Sheldon Leonard, his very dear friend and the vacations they took together. It was truly sitting at the knee of the master .... he was a superb story-teller!
Seeing the WAR LORD with Earle, as you can imagine, was a goose-bumps, shiver down the spine, splendid, amazing, emotional moment for me. But the biggest joy of that evening was having the opportunity of being able to tell him how much his music meant to me - how it had affected my life, and what happiness and delight it filled me with. Everyone here on the FORUM knows what I mean when I say the "magic that is I SPY." For some reason, it has affected us all very deeply and in a very special way. Being able to let Earle know (and again with his wonderful one-on-one connection with people) how much his music meant was truly one of those once in a lifetime moments totally filled with joy and pleasure.
When our trip was over, he said quietly "It was nice to hear laughter in the house again." Hugs and kisses and tears all around after that.
Many, many wonderful visits came after that. Earle eventually met and married Laura, the perfect partner for him - gracious, lovely, fun, and beautiful. She brought so much happiness into Earle's life - they were the perfect complement to each other.
Earle and Laura came down to SPYFEST in 2003, to join us all on the Queen Mary - and spent time with everyone. The whole gang had dinner with him the next night. In 2004, SAM and I and our husbands were invited to join in Earle's 85th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl, where they were honoring TV Theme Composers. It was a fantastic week-end and an amazing event. Robert Culp led the audience of 18,000 in singing "Happy Birthday" to Earle!! What a blast!
http://www.emmys.tv/news/2004/july/hollywoodbowl.php
Our last visit for the three couples together - Earle and Laura, SAM and her great husband, Faithful Tonto and myself was a get together last June. We had a ball together - eating, shopping, meeting up with Mike Rupert.
I will miss Earle so very deeply. What a joy it was to be with him - and to be in touch with him. He will always be my "magic" .... but I am so grateful for the gift of his friendship and that we all have his amazing music to keep with us forever!! As we walked into the funeral, they were playing several selections of Earle's music ... "Tatia" was one of them ...
Always in my heart, Mr. Perfect ...
Tatia
~ ~ 
