Animaniacs legend Gordon Goodwin has died.
The Daytime Emmy and Grammy winner passed away on Dec. 8 from “complications of pancreatic cancer,” his wife, Vangie Gunn-Goodwin, shared on Facebook. He was 70.
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“He was surrounded by his mother Alice, his kids Madison, Garett,Trevor, Garrison, his step kids Levi and Aria, closest friends and of course, myself,” she wrote. “It was a beautiful peaceful passing filled with love and warmth. In his last moments all of us gently told him how much we loved him over and over. Please pray for us during this unimaginable loss. He will be missed so much, and my life will have an emptiness that will never be filled. Thank you for your love and kindness in this time.”
Goodwin was born in Wichita, Kansas, and studied formal music education at Cal State University-Northridge. After college, he worked at Disneyland in the theme park’s band and a few years later, was commissioned to work on a musical that featured past and present Mouseketeers, including Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Master drummer and bandleader Louie Bellson recruited Goodwin to join his band after hearing his music, leading Goodwin to work with Gil Scott-Heron, Mel Torme, Ray Charles, and Johnny Mathis.
In 1999, Goodwin founded the Big Phat Band for what was supposed to be a one-time performance at his alma mater, but since then, the band has recorded 10 albums and received 22 Grammy nominations. Goodwin won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Incredits” for The Incredibles and won three Emmys for his work on Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. Additionally, his work has been featured in over 80 film and TV productions, such as National Treasure, Star Trek: Nemesis, Snakes on a Plane, Get Smart, Remember the Titans, The Lion King, and Ratatouille.
Goodwin has been nominated for a total of 25 Grammys, winning four of them. In 2021, Big Phat Band released the EP The Reset, comprised of five topical songs that are a “bold foray into the intersection of composition and improvisation, a futuristic excursion brimming with purpose and cursive.” Two years prior, he released the full-length album The Gordian Knot, which was a nod to Greek mythology. In addition to music, Goodwin was the host of the popular long-running radio program Phat Tracks with Gordon Goodwin on KJAZZ, America’s jazz and blues station.