Fred Karlin

(1936-06-16)June 16, 1936

March 26, 2004(2004-03-26) (aged 67)

Early life and education[edit]

Karlin was born in Chicago, Illinois.[2][3] He had a brother, Kenneth.[2][3]


Karlin began playing jazz trumpet[3] in 1950.[2] He studied jazz composition with William Russo and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College, graduating with honors.[2] His String Quartet No. 2 was his honors thesis.

Personal life and death[edit]

Karlin married musician and musicologist Margaret "Meg" Anne (née Stagg) Karlin (a.k.a. Tylwyth Kymry[1] and Meg Welles[6]) in 1963.[2] They recorded three albums together.[2] The couple had two daughters, Wendy Karlin and Kathryn Velasquez, and two sons, Eric and Kristopher[6] and four grandchildren.[2] In 1978, Wendy murdered Kristopher, and she later served a short-term sentence in a mental hospital.[7] Kristopher's death was a great blow to Fred.[8]


Fred Karlin died at age 67 of cancer in Culver City, California.[3] His widow Meg died July 31, 2016, in West Hollywood, California.[6]

Wright, H. Stephen; Limbacher, James L. Keeping Score: Film and Television Music, 1980–1988. Scarecrow Press, 1991.

at the OscarSite.com

Fred Karlin

at RateYourMusic.com

Fred Karlin

at IMDb

Fred Karlin

at the University of Wyoming - American Heritage Center

Fred Karlin papers

at the University of Wyoming - American Heritage Center

Meg and Fred Karlin American Music collection