Buddy Bregman

Buddy Bregman, a conductor and arranger, died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, in Los Angeles, according to multiple news sources. He was 86.

Bregman, a nephew of the songwriter Jule Styne, arranged music for a diverse array of singers including Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, and Mel Torme.

Bregman, who was born July 9, 1930, in Chicago, studied at the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1955, he was hired to lead the orchestra for “The Gary Crosby Show” on CBS Radio. After turning 25, he joined Verge Records as the head of artists and repertoire.

His TV and film credits include "Five Guns West," "The Eddie Fisher Show," "Shower of Stars," and "General Electric Theater."

On Broadway, he arranged the music for “The Pajama Game” and “Jerry Lewis at the Palace.” He later did the orchestration for the movie version of “The Pajama Game.” He recalled his experiences in an interview with the writer Bruce Kimmel.

“In doing the orchestrations in the film ‘Pajama Game,’ I split the chores with Nelson Riddle,” Bregman said. “Not only did I do the orchestrations for the numbers, they kept me on to do the underscoring as well. So I wrote all of the background music based on the Adler and Ross Score – another real thrill as well.”