HNIC theme composer Claman `had an incredible life'
Dolores Claman, who composed the Hockey Night in Canada theme that has drawn millions to the TV set for seven decades, died earlier last week in Spain at age 94.
Sitting at her piano one day in 1968 in Scarborough, the Juilliard-trained Claman gazed out the window to Lake Ontario, where an idea about Roman gladiators or medieval knights clashing on skates came to mind. It didn't take long for her to complete the instrumental for Maclaren Advertising and HNIC executive producer Ralph Mellanby.
“Generations recognized that iconic theme,” author and Hockey Hall of Fame resource specialist Kevin Shea said.
“She was a good, ripe old age, and she had an incredible life,” daughter Madeleine Morris told The Canadian Press.
Vancouver native Claman first came to prominence with British-born husband Richard for composing the `Ontari-ari-o!' theme (A Place To Stand, A Place to Grow) for the provincial pavilion at Montreal's Expo 67.
As she worked on the HNIC theme, Claman told author Michael Mckinley that she tried to follow the progression of a hockey game, from the players getting their equipment on, to coming out for warm-up, then the hits, goals, saves “and a cold beer afterwards.”
At first, Claman didn't see much financial windfall. There was an $800 flat fee when it debuted as a game night ad.
But the show soon adopted it as the official theme, with arranger Jerry Toth perfecting the familiar version.
That bumped Claman's annual earnings to $4,000 before she got an agent and licensed `Hockey Theme' for a profitable $500 per broadcast.