Louis Barron; Made Music Electronically

Louis Barron, an electronic pioneer who created music from circuitry long before the evolvement of synthesizers, has died of lung cancer, his wife said this week.

Barron, who with his first wife fashioned the score for the innovative music in the 1956 film “Forbidden Planet,” died Nov. 1 in Los Angeles. Mary Ellen Barron said her husband was 69.

A largely self-taught engineer and pianist, Barron first combined those interests in 1948 when he and his then wife, Bebe, created circuits that mechanically altered sound. At the time, he was one of few Americans involved in the field.

He later worked with composer John Cage investigating the relationship between music and sound and, after a few experimental film scores, was asked with his wife to write the music for “Forbidden Planet,” a science-fiction film based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”

Louis and Bebe Barron also collaborated on concerts and on such Broadway productions as “Visit to a Small Planet,” “The Happiest Girl in the World” and “The Chinese Wall.”

Besides his wife he is survived by two sons.