William Lava had no formal music training. He had a journalism degree. But the great depression kept him from breaking into the news.
A friend taught Lava how to compose music. Then connected him to the film industry.
Lava mainly composed for tv and cartoons. He became the main composer for Warner Brothers Cartoons in 1962.
Lava's TV credits include Zorro, Cheyenne and Lassie.
In 1966 he wrote music for a TV pilot called House of Wax. The show was deemed too intense for TV. Instead it was released in theaters as Chamber of Horrors.
The William Lava papers at UW's American Heritage Center contains his handwritten musical scores for TV and movies.