Craig Safan

Beyond the famous Gary Portnoy-Judy Hart Angelo theme song, a lot of other music went into making the 1982-93 NBC comedy series "Cheers" into the smash that it was. A large part of that additional music was composed and arranged by Craig Safan, a hard-working composer for TV, film, and the stage. From 1998 to 1994, Safan won seven consecutive "Best TV Series" awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for his work on "Cheers," a phenomenal vote of confidence from his musical peers. He also shared an Emmy nomination in 1991 for his work on an episode of the drama "Life Goes On." Safan has composed the theme songs for the TV shows "Pearl" and "Hope and Gloria." On the feature-film side, he is arguably best known for scoring the 1984 science-fiction adventure "The Last Starfighter," which has gone on to achieve cult status. A teen musical prodigy, Safan wrote four musicals while a student at Brandeis University, earning a graduate scholarship in London. Alongside his TV and film work, Safan continues to author stage compositions and theater musicals.