Death of Meredith Willson

On 15 June 1984, Meredith Willson died in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 82.[1][4][6]

His death closed a career that had helped define midcentury American musical life across radio, Broadway, film, and popular song. By that point, he had become best known for The Music Man, but his body of work also included symphonic compositions, network radio leadership, film scoring for Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, and widely recorded standards such as “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”[1][4][7][11]

Willson’s death was significant because it marked the passing of an artist whose work had turned regional memory into national culture. In the era before his mainstream recognition, he had navigated demanding professional worlds that often separated classical musicianship from commercial entertainment, yet he succeeded in both. His legacy persisted through revivals, recordings, and continued performances of his songs and musicals, especially the long afterlife of The Music Man.[1][4][11][12]

Biographical sources largely agree on the date of death, although one PBS program transcript reports 16 June 1984; the majority of reference works support 15 June.[1][6][10]