Milt Franklyn

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Milt Franklyn (September 16, 1897, New York – April 24, 1962, Los Angeles) was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes cartoons. He started work at Warner Bros. in 1950, arranging the scores produced by Carl Stalling, while beginning to compose in his own right in 1954. After Stalling retired in 1958, Milt Franklyn became the sole musical composer for Warner Bros. Cartoons. He was educated at the University of Utah, the University of California, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was Master of Ceremonies for Fanchon and Marco between 1927 and 1930, and then for Paramount Publix and Loews between 1931 and 1933. He joined ASCAP in 1954.

Franklyn died of a heart attack on April 24, 1962. At the time of his death, Franklyn was composing the score for a Tweety cartoon, The Jet Cage. The effect of Franklyn's death was noticeable as Franklyn's music (similar to Stalling's in its incorporation of traditional tunes) was abruptly replaced mid-cartoon by William Lava's music. Lava had a very different, somewhat more modern style of composing, which is quickly apparent when viewing Warner Bros. cartoons produced after 1962. The Jet Cage did not list Lava's name in the opening credits.

Milt Franklyn, along with Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese, was responsible for "The Michigan Rag", an original song written for the classic cartoon One Froggy Evening, featuring Michigan J. Frog.