Philip Balsam obit

Philip Balsam Has Died

Faivel Ben Tzvi ve Chaya Fraindel 

He was not on the list.

BALSAM, PHILIP, of Toronto, Ontario. It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the loss of our sweet and brilliantly talented Philip, who passed away on March 31, 2023, at his home in Toronto at the age of 79. He was in the company of his wife of 43 years and a few close friends, after struggling with Giant Cell Arteritis for the past two years and suffering a rapid decline in his health in the last two weeks. Philip came to Canada as a young child with his adoring parents, Harry and Frieda Balsam, and his uncle, David Balsam, after escaping Europe following the end of the second World War. He lived the rest of his life in Toronto, and attended the Ontario College of Art. As an adult, Philip flourished as an artist, musician and composer, achieving international recognition as a renowned songwriter. Among his many accomplishments, he was awarded, along with his co-writers Dennis Lee and Jim Betts, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Musical for the production of Mordecai Richler’s “Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang.” He wrote music and songs for many adult and children’s television programs, such as “Groundling Marsh,” “Dog City” and others, but his most beloved and joyful achievement was in being selected, with his songwriting partner, Dennis Lee, to compose all the songs for the international children’s show, Jim Henson’s “Fraggle Rock.” Record albums produced from those songs resulted in his nomination for a Grammy Award. Philip’s unique style of songwriting has inspired generations of children and adults, many of whom have acknowledged that their own musical careers were launched after falling in love with the music from “Fraggle Rock.” He recognized talent and encouraged artistic expression in whomever he found it. In his personal life, Philip was a gentle, loving and protective nurturer to his wife, and he cared deeply for his friends, nourishing many of his friendships for over sixty years. An avid walker until two years ago, Philip toured every Toronto park, ravine and city street on a daily basis, stopping to chat with neighbours and strangers, and to pat each dog or cat he met along the way. An only child, Philip leaves behind his wife, Carol, and his cousins Jerry of Toronto, and Renee of New York. Fans of “Fraggle Rock” will understand when we say, “Dance Your Cares Away” dear, wonderful Philip.

The music of Fraggle Rock is arguably just as important to the success of the series as any of the Fraggles themselves. The songs helped drive the story, build suspense, create comedy, and help to drive home Jim Henson’s mission to bring peace to the world through his puppet show. Fraggle Rock would not have been Fraggle Rock if it weren’t for the songwriting team of Balsam and Lee.

While Dennis Lee wrote lyrics, his musical partner Philip Balsam handled the compositions. And those melodies are all spectacular, giving Fraggle Rock not just one voice, but a slew of various genres that helped build out the world and allow for an incredibly diverse library of music.

Among their Fraggly accomplishments, the duo wrote the franchise-defining song “Follow Me” as their audition tape for the show. They were also tasked with writing the iconic theme song, as well as songs like “Let Me Be Your Song”, “Pass It On”, “Convincing John”, “Do It On My Own”, and dozens more.

Elsewhere on Fraggle Rock, the character “Balsam the Minstrel” seems to have been named for Philip Balsam, although according to the Muppet Wiki, that fact has not been confirmed. But, come on.

In addition to his work on Fraggle Rock, Balsam and Lee wrote songs for Rocky Mountain Holiday, The Tale of the Bunny Picnic, The Jim Henson Hour, Muppet Classic Theater, and The Animal Show. Balsam (without Lee) also wrote the theme song to the Dog City TV series.