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Alf Clausen, longtime composer for 'The Simpsons' and former North Dakotan, dies at 84

Clausen composed music for the iconic animated comedy from 1990 to 2017. He graduated from Jamestown High School and attended NDSU.

Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen.
Contributed file photo

FARGO — Composer Alf Clausen, known for his Emmy Award-winning work on the long-running animated comedy "The Simpsons," died Thursday, May 29, at the age of 84, Variety first reported.

His daughter, Kaarin Clausen, posted on Instagram that her father died peacefully "after a long and valiant struggle with Parkinson's."

Clausen was born in Minneapolis but raised in Jamestown, where he attended high school, according to a 2012 profile from The Jamestown Sun. He studied music theory at North Dakota State University and later earned a degree in arranging composition from Berklee College of Music in Boston.

The Jamestown High School graduate played French horn and piano and sang in the choir. He called his musical experience in Jamestown "invaluable."

"We can make people smile and people cry," Clausen said of his experience writing for film and television. "We underscore the entire range of human emotion, and that's why my job is so thrilling and satisfying."

Clausen won two Emmys for his work on "The Simpsons." He won five Annie Awards recognizing his work in animation for film and television and a Golden Note Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

He was fired from The Simpsons in 2017 as the show made an effort to cut costs and shake up the approach to its music.

According to IMDB, Clausen worked on a wide variety of films and TV shows throughout his career, including "Weird Science," "The Beastmaster," "Alf" and "Moonlighting."

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