Peter Fish Obit

Peter Fish Obituary

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956 - 2021

 

Composer and musician, Peter Fish, whose career spanned from age 15 until he passed away on May 22, 2021, in Los Angeles, CA where he and his fiancée, Tracey Anarella, had recently made their home. He died of cardiac arrest at age 64.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he was the youngest of four children, born to Max and Ida Fish. His talent as a gifted musician revealed itself at an early age. After starting his career touring with The Benny Goodman Band as a teenager, Peter decided to move to New York and become a composer for film and television. There he founded National Sound in New York with his former wife, Jennifer Fish. Peter played gigs from the likes of Ray Charles, CTA (California Transit Authority with former Chicago band drummer, Danny Seraphine), Carly Simon, to his very own highly acclaimed band, The Peter Fish Group.

Peter Fish's talents as a composer/arranger/producer span feature films, Top 10 singles, multiple TV series, commercials, and theatre productions. He wrote songs and iconic theme music for various networks including Warner Brothers, CBS, NBC, PBS, HBO, and New York 1. Peter received 17 Emmy nominations with 6 total wins. He was nominated for an Emmy for Best Original Theme Song for his composition, Moment of Luxury for the PBS series of the same name. He won Emmys for Best Original Score for All My Children and his work on Sesame Street, as well as two Telly awards for CBS Eye on America and one for the VPI Commercial Campaign. He also received three ASCAP awards for Most Performed Composer. He recorded and conducted three original compositions commissioned by the Czech National Symphony in Prague.

Peter's two albums, Peter Fish, The Silver Apple, and Numbers are sold and enjoyed by his supporters worldwide. Peter arranged music for The Buddy Rich Band and The California Transit Authority and countless other acts, bands, and artists. In the past eight years Peter and his partner in life and work, Tracey Anarella, worked together to create films for her production company, A-Roll Pictures. Peter wrote the original music and did the audio post for all of her films and oftentimes shot second camera. The Austin Revolution Film Festival granted Peter with Best Soundtrack/Score award for Tracey's film, Not Black Enough. In recent years, Peter was a frequent guest lecturer at the Berklee College of Music. He also began teaching piano and music theory to students worldwide on Zoom. In recent years, Peter was a frequent guest lecturer at the Berklee College of Music. He also began teaching piano and music theory to students worldwide on Zoom.

Peter is survived by his partner in life, Tracey, his stepchildren Chandler and Justin Anarella, his brother, Stanley Fish and his wife Jane Thompson, their daughter Susan Fish, sister-in-law, Anne Fish, nieces Jen Fish and Allie Jones, Jackie Levan and her husband, Pete, Mindy Turk Weber and Bonnie Turk Weick and nephews, Frank Turk and David Fish, his wife Shanda and their daughters Jalyn and Sydney, plus numerous cousins whom he loved dearly. His siblings Ron and Rita preceded him in death.

 

Composer

Amen, Amen, Amen: A Story for Our Times (2021)

Amen, Amen, Amen: A Story for Our Times

Composer

2021

 

Pure Art, the Work of Franklin Williams (2018)

Pure Art, the Work of Franklin Williams

Composer

2018

 

Crazy (2017)

Crazy

Composer

2017

 

Bert and Arnie's Guide to Friendship (2013)

Bert and Arnie's Guide to Friendship

5.0

Composer

2013

 

Cathouse: Sex, Guys and Videotape (2009)

Cathouse: Sex, Guys and Videotape

8.4

TV Special

Composer

2009

 

Moment of Luxury (2008)

Moment of Luxury

TV Series

music

2008

1 episode

 

Walk Like a Man (2008)

Walk Like a Man

6.7

Composer

2008

 

Cathouse: The Series (2005)

Cathouse: The Series

6.4

TV Series

Composer

2005–2008

9 episodes

 

Cathouse: The Musical (2008)

Cathouse: The Musical

4.9

TV Movie

Composer

2008

 

I Was a Creature from Outer Space

5.7

Short

Composer

2007

 

Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq (2007)

Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq

7.8

TV Movie

Composer

2007

 

Margaret Colin in Happenstance (2007)

Happenstance

6.3

Short

Composer

2007

 

Margaret Brennan in Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan (1954)

Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan

5.6

TV Series

Composer

2006

10 episodes

 

Real Sex (1990)

Real Sex

6.9

TV Series

Composer

2001–2005

4 episodes

 

The Science of Love

7.8

Short

Composer

2005

 

Ann Dowd in Extreme Mom (2004)

Extreme Mom

6.7

Short

Composer

2004

 

Gary Ridgway in Mugshots (2000)

Mugshots

6.9

TV Series

Composer

2004

1 episode

 

A Tale of Two Pizzas (2003)

A Tale of Two Pizzas

5.7

Composer

2003

 

F. Murray Abraham, Peter Coyote, Allison Argo, David Attenborough, Paul Christie, John Benjamin Hickey, Howard McGillin, George Page, Jay O. Sanders, Craig Sechler, Nora Young, Toby Leonard Moore, and Chris Morgan in Nature (1982)

Nature

8.9

TV Series

Composer

2003

1 episode

 

Middle School Confessions (2002)

Middle School Confessions

7.9

TV Movie

Composer

2002

 

Persona Non Grata (2003)

America Undercover

6.9

TV Series

original music composed and performed byComposer

2001

2 episodes

 

Artists and Orphans: A True Drama (2001)

Artists and Orphans: A True Drama

4.9

Short

Composer

2001

 

A Trial in Prague (2000)

A Trial in Prague

7.1

Composer

2000

 

The Great Game: The Story of Wall Street

9.6

TV Movie

Composer

2000

 

The Vampire Murders (1999)

The Vampire Murders

TV Movie

Composer

1999

 

Mike Wallace in Dead Blue: Surviving Depression (1998)

Dead Blue: Surviving Depression

9.1

TV Movie

Composer

1998

 

Voices of the Children (1997)

Voices of the Children

Composer

1997

 

Richard Edson and Cristi Conaway in Intimate Betrayal (1996)

Intimate Betrayal

6.7

TV Movie

Composer

1996

 

Ride for Your Life

5.8

Video Game

Composer

1995

 

Wigstock: The Movie (1995)

Wigstock: The Movie

6.9

Composer

1995

 

Bums (1993)

Bums

5.9

Composer

1993

 

Painting the Town

7.5

Composer

1992

 

TV-Dad (1988)

TV-Dad

Short

Composer

1988

 

Rainbow Brite: San Diego Zoo Adventure (1986)

Rainbow Brite: San Diego Zoo Adventure

7.1

Video

Composer

1986

 

Joint Custody: A New Kind of Family

Composer

1984

 

Isabella and the Magic Brush

Short

Composer

1976

 

Music Department

CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley (1979)

CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley

7.7

TV Series

broadcast music

2021

1 episode

 

Katie Morgan in Katie Does Manhattan (2012)

Katie Does Manhattan

7.3

TV Special

music director

2012

 

Katie Morgan in Katie Morgan's Sex Quiz (2009)

Katie Morgan's Sex Quiz

6.0

TV Movie

composer: additional music

2009

 

Katie Morgan in Katie Morgan's Sex Tips: Questions, Anyone? (2008)

Katie Morgan's Sex Tips: Questions, Anyone?

6.3

TV Movie

composer: additional music

2008

 

Katie Morgan in Katie Morgan on Sex Toys (2007)

Katie Morgan on Sex Toys

7.6

TV Movie

composer: additional music

2007

 

Cathouse: The Series (2005)

Cathouse: The Series

6.4

TV Series

additional music

2005

1 episode

 

Gary Ridgway in Mugshots (2000)

Mugshots

6.9

TV Series

performer

2004

1 episode

 

F. Murray Abraham, Peter Coyote, Allison Argo, David Attenborough, Paul Christie, John Benjamin Hickey, Howard McGillin, George Page, Jay O. Sanders, Craig Sechler, Nora Young, Toby Leonard Moore, and Chris Morgan in Nature (1982)

Nature

8.9

TV Series

music producer

2003

1 episode

 

Cathouse (2002)

Cathouse

5.9

TV Movie

composer: additional music

2002

 

Persona Non Grata (2003)

America Undercover

6.9

TV Series

music performed by

2001

1 episode

 

Bums (1993)

Bums

5.9

musician: keyboards, 'The Bums Band'synthesizer programming

1993

 

Gabrielle Anwar in Body Snatchers (1993)

Body Snatchers

6.0

additional scoring

1993

 

Isabella and the Magic Brush

Short

music arrangerperformer: all other music

1976

 

Sound Department

Pure Art, the Work of Franklin Williams (2018)

Pure Art, the Work of Franklin Williams

sound editor

2018

 

Brooklyn United

Short

sound editorsound mixer

2014

 

Soundtrack

Jorma Taccone, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and The Lonely Island in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

6.7

performer: "'Extra' Theme Music"writer: "'Extra' Theme Music"

2016

 

Cathouse: The Musical (2008)

Cathouse: The Musical

4.9

TV Movie

writer: "Sombrero"

2008

 

Gettin' It (2006)

Gettin' It

3.3

writer: "Keep It Simple Stupid"

2006

 

Cathouse (2002)

Cathouse

5.9

TV Movie

performer: "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" (Quizás, Quizás, Quizás)

2002

 

Richard Edson and Cristi Conaway in Intimate Betrayal (1996)

Intimate Betrayal

6.7

TV Movie

lyrics: "Kissme"music: "Kissme"

1996

 

Bums (1993)

Bums

5.9

lyrics: "Remember Who Your Friends Are"music: "Remember Who Your Friends Are"

1993

 

Producer

Brooklyn United

Short

co-producer

2014

 

Camera and Electrical Department

Brooklyn United

Short

assistant camera

2014