Music director and composer Geoff Harvey, who worked on some of Nine Network's most popular TV shows, has died at the age of 83.
Mr Harvey, who was a fixture on Australian television, spent 38 years at the Nine Network where he also composed many theme songs for the network, such as those for The Sullivans, A Current Affair and Today.
He became a familiar TV identity through his 22 years at The Midday Show - a 90 minute variety program which featured numerous musical performances.
He also worked on The Don Lane Show, Bob Roger's Tonight Show and Bandstand.
Nine CEO Hugh Marks paid tribute to the performer following his death.
"Geoff Harvey was a man of enormous talent as a musician and an entertainer," Mr Marks said in a statement.
"He was funny and generous, entertaining Australians as the Musical Director of choice on so many of our programs across the decades alongside the likes of Kerrie-Anne Kennerley, Don Lane, Ray Martin and Mike Walsh.
"Our condolences go out to his family and close friends at this sad time."
Ray Martin described the maestro as a "one-off character".
"He was just a barrel of laughs," he told the Nine Network.
"If there was a face of television, it probably isn't Bert [Newton] or Graham [Kennedy], it's Geoff Harvey."
"Every time you needed someone to rescue a program, Geoff would come in ... he was always there, he was the maestro."
Others have honoured the musician on Twitter after news broke of his death on Saturday evening.
Singer David Campbell said Mr Harvey was both patient and funny when they worked together on the Midday show, while journalist and radio host Mike Carlton remembered the good times when he played in a rival media rugby league competition: "What fun we had trying to stomp on his fingers so he couldn't play piano the next week. He took it in good part."
After leaving Nine, Mr Harvey worked with orchestras around the country and spent 19 years as the musical director of the Carols by Candlelight, held in Melbourne on Christmas Eve.
The musician was recently on a tour of Australia doing a show called Senior Moments.
He was born and raised in the UK, and left for Australia after the end of World War II.
Australian Associated Press
