Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer for The Simpsons, has been fired after composing music for 27 years for what is the longest running American sitcom and animated series ever.
Variety broke the news, reporting that Caulsen “received a call from Simpsons producer Richard Sakai that the company was seeking ‘a different kind of music’ and that he would no longer be scoring the longtime Fox hit.”
As well as two Emmys, Clausen has also won five Annie awards for his work on the Simpsons. His long tenure on the series earned him great respect, and it is being speculated that his dismissal is related to cost-cutting measures which have been ongoing at The Simpsons in recent years.
He started working with the show in 1990 for the original Treehouse of Horror, and scored dozens of songs and thousands of musical cues for the series, all the while leading a 35-piece orchestra. In the past, he also composed for movies such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Naked Gun.
A replacement has yet to be announced for the new season, which commences on October 1 on Fox, but Danny Elfman’s theme song will likely remain.
A Fox spokeswoman declined to comment.
