John Morris (1926-2018) was a composer best known for scoring most of the films of Mel Brooks. He wrote the music for the Sesame Street song "In My Coloring Book" (lyrics by Tony Geiss), heard in Episode 1397 in 1980.
Morris spent most of his early career on Broadway, beginning with the 1952 Gershwin musical Of Thee I Sing as assistant musical director. He arranged or composed music for dance numbers in musicals, as well as incidental music in straight plays such as Shakespeare. His musicals included Bells Are Ringing (with Jean Stapleton), Baker Street (with Fritz Weaver), Bye Bye Birdie, and Sherry! (with Clive Revill).
Morris first worked with Mel Brooks on the 1957 musical Shinbone Alley, which Brooks co-wrote the book for. He scored Brooks' first film The Producers, followed by Blazing Saddles (including the title ballad), Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, Spaceballs, and all other movies directed by Brooks through Life Stinks (1991). He also scored the remake of To Be or Not to Be (which Brooks produced and starred in, but did not direct), The Elephant Man (with John Hurt), The Doctor and the Devils, Johnny Dangerously (with Michael Keaton) and Clue (with Tim Curry and others).
Morris scored comedies directed by and starring Young Frankenstein alumni Gene Wilder (four films including The World's Greatest Lover) and Marty Feldman (The Last Remake of Beau Geste and In God We Tru$t, as well as Yellowbeard in which Feldman acted only.) For TV, he composed the theme songs for The French Chef (with Julia Child) and the sitcom Coach.