Michael Rubin (composer)

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Michael Rubin

Also known as| Seth O'Hickory
Born| September 24, 1963 (age 62)
New York City, NY
Genres| Film score, electronic, big beat, rock, trip hop
Occupation(s)| Composer, producer, lyricist, singer, voice actor
Instrument| Multi-instrumentalist
Labels| Murmur Music
Website| www.Rhumba.pro

Musical artist

Michael Rubin II is an American music producer, composer, voice actor and lyricist best known for his work in children’s television. Rubin has created musical pieces for shows including Bubble Guppies, Blue's Clues, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Jack's Big Music Show, among others. On Blue's Clues, Rubin was also the voice of Mailbox. His songs have been performed by artists including Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle, Macy Gray, Randy Travis, India.Arie, Nell Carter, Toni Braxton, Phoebe Snow, and The Persuasions.

## Career

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Rubin began his professional career making music for advertising. He founded the music production company Murmur Music Inc. in 1993. Murmur created music and sound design for commercials and promotional pieces for American Express, AMC, AT&T, Bell South, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Fisher Price, The Food Network, General Motors, Kraft, Maxwell House, Merck, Motorola, Nabisco, Paramount Pictures, Rockport, Samsung, UPS, VH1, Viacom, Volvo and others. He founded the company Rhumba which encompasses Murmur and Dubway Studios which is run by Al Houghton.[1]

In 1995, Rubin (with writing partner Nick Balaban) created the music and sound design for the pilot episode of Blue's Clues. Rubin and Murmur created the soundtrack for all six seasons of the show as well as music for the traveling theatrical production Blue’s Clues Live, a feature-length direct-to-video movie Blue’s Big Musical Movie, the spin-off Blue’s Room, and other media. Rubin also provided the voice of the character Mailbox.

In 2007, Murmur Music partnered with Dubway Studios to form Rhumba Recorders, an audio production company for children's media. Shortly after this partnership, Rubin began writing and producing the songs and score for all seasons of the series Bubble Guppies.

Rubin, sometimes under the stage name Seth O'Hickory, has sung and voiced several characters in shows featuring his music. He sang lead vocals as a crab henchman in his song "She's So Mean," featured in the Bubble Guppies episode "Bubble Puppy's Fin-Tastic Fairy Tale." He is the voice of the sun in "The Planet Song," originally created for Blue's Clues and then featured in a NASA exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

## Awards and nominations

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* 2016 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Song for “Little Froggie,” from the Bubble Guppies episode "The Running of the Bullfrogs"[2]
* 2014 Daytime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for the Bubble Guppies (with collaborator John Angier)[3]
* 2012 Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement: Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production for the Bubble Guppies episode "Bubble Puppy's Fin-tastic Fairy Tale"[4]
* 2008 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Song - Children's & Animated for "Duck 4" on Jack’s Big Music Show[5]
* 2004 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for Blue's Clues[6]

## Personal life

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Rubin was born to Jewish parents Carol (née Teichman), a chemistry teacher who taught at Schreiber High School and Arnold Rubin, who co-founded RHG Electronics in Deer Park, New York as well as a founding member of Kehillath Shalom synagogue.[7] He grew up in Huntington, New York in Long Island. He married Tamara Hanneman in 1994 and they currently live in New York City.[8]

## Filmography

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### Television

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Year  | Show  | Music  | Network  | Notes

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1996-2007 | Blue's Clues | Composer, lyrics, voice of Mailbox/the Sun | Nick Jr. | along with Nick Balaban
2004-2007 | Blue's Room | Composer
2005-2008 | Jack's Big Music Show | Composer, lyrics | Noggin/Nick Jr. |
2006-2016 | Mickey Mouse Clubhouse | Composer, lyrics "Mousekador Song" | Disney Junior |
2011-2016, 2019-2023 | Bubble Guppies | Composer, lyrics | Nick Jr. | along with Nick Balaban for Seasons 1 and 3 only.

### Film

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Year  | Film  | Music  | Studio  | Notes

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2000 | Blue's Big Musical Movie | Composer, lyrics, voice of Mailbox | Paramount Pictures, Nick Jr. Productions | along with Nick Balaban

### Theatrical

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Year  | Show  | Music  | Notes

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1999-2003 | Blue's Clues Live! | Composer, lyrics | along with Nick Balaban

## References

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1. ^ "About". Rhumba!. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
2. ^ 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations
3. ^ "Daytime Emmy Awards 2014: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. 2014-05-01. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11.
4. ^ 2012 Annie Award Nominations
5. ^ 2008 Daytime Emmy Award Nominations Archived 2013-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ 31st Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations
7. ^ "ARNOLD RUBIN Obituary (1927 - 2020) - New York, NY - New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
8. ^ "WEDDINGS; T. L. Hanneman, Michael S. Rubin (Published 1994)". The New York Times. 1994-09-25. Retrieved 2023-08-16.

## External links

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* Michael Rubin at IMDb
* Official website of Rhumba Recorders

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* Korea
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef