Biography
John Harry Cacavas (13 August 1930 – 28 January 2014) was an American composer and conductor. Born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, he studied musical composition at Northwestern University and served as an arranger with the US Army Band.
Cacavas was the principal composer for the television series Kojak (1973–78), scoring 114 episodes and writing its second main title theme for the fifth and final season. He also composed scores for Hawaii Five-O, The Bionic Woman, Mrs. Columbo and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, as well as television movies including The Executioner's Song (1982). His feature film credits include Horror Express (1972), Airport 1975 (1974), Airport '77 (1977), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) and Hangar 18 (1980).
He received two Primetime Emmy nominations and a Grammy Award for other work. Cacavas later wrote the theme for the 2005 video game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
