Overview
Introduction
"The Typewriter" is a novelty instrumental piece written by Leroy Anderson in 1950, and first performed by the Boston Pops.
Its name refers to the fact that its performance requires a typewriter, which is used on stage: keystrokes, the typewriter bell, and the carriage return mechanism provide a major component of the piece, although Anderson demonstrated that a musical gourd could be used instead of a carriage return. The typewriter is modified so that only two keys work; although many listeners have suspected that stenographers are enlisted to "play" the typewriter, Anderson reported that only professional drummers have sufficient wrist flexibility.
It has been called one of "the wittiest and most clever pieces in the orchestral repertoire".
The piece was featured in the Jerry Lewis film Who's Minding the Store (1963). The Radio 4 satirical programme The News Quiz has adopted the tune as its theme song. The original MS-DOS version of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing! played a portion of the piece on startup. For several decades the tune has also been the opening theme for Israel Radio's weekly news journal, which is broadcast on its "Network B" ("Reshet Bet") every Saturday morning. It was also featured as a title theme for the German comedy TV series Büro, Büro, and in Adam Elliot's 2009 Australian film Mary and Max. It was integrated into the Animaniacs cartoon segment "Temporary Insanity" (Season 1, episode 6, 1993), mimed by Yakko Warner as being typed on a nonexistent typewriter.
