The Moment
Nickelodeon composer Guy Moon, the Emmy-nominated musician behind some of the most instantly recognizable kids’ TV themes of the 2000s, has died at 63.
According to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, Moon died from traumatic injuries after a traffic collision in Los Angeles on the morning of January 8, 2026. His family later confirmed his passing in an emotional Facebook statement, calling him their “beloved patriarch” and saying they felt “singularly blessed” to have called him husband and dad.
Moon’s name might not ring a bell right away, but his work almost certainly does. He scored beloved animated series like The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom, and worked repeatedly with animator Butch Hartman on shows that basically raised a generation of Nickelodeon kids.
The Take
I always say this: you may not remember a storyline, but you remember a theme song. Guy Moon lived in that space.
The news of his death hits on two levels. There’s the obvious human heartbreak – a family suddenly without their husband and father after a random, ordinary drive. And then there’s that quieter ache you feel when you realize someone who soundtracked your kids’ childhoods (or your own late-night reruns) is gone.
For a lot of parents 40 and up, Moon’s work is baked into the background of everyday life. The sing-song chaos of The Fairly OddParents theme. The slightly moodier, superhero edge of Danny Phantom. These weren’t just “cartoon songs” – they were the audio wallpaper of Saturday mornings, homework breaks and “okay, one more episode before bed.”
Composers in TV animation rarely get household-name treatment, but their impact is huge. Think of Guy Moon as the musical architect of a specific Nickelodeon era – the way one whiff of a certain perfume drops you right back to high school. His scores did that with three seconds of a drum hit and a horn line.
What also stands out here is how loved he clearly was by the people who worked with him. Butch Hartman, who created many of the shows Moon scored, shared tributes on social media, and fans flooded X with clips and memories. When the crew – not just the stars – get that kind of outpouring, it tells you everything about how someone showed up professionally and personally.
Guy Moon – the composer of The Fairly OddParents, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Back at the Barnyard, and Big Time Rush (among many other shows) – passed away due to a car crash on January 8, 2026.
R.I.P. the most famous musical talent in Nickelodeon history. pic.twitter.com/3xz8P2UnJN
— Jason the Cartoon Fan 🍉 (@JasonSt77097165) January 10, 2026
If anything, this moment is a reminder that the “invisible” artists behind our favorite shows deserve flowers while they’re still with us. We hear them more than we see them – and yet they’re responsible for the parts we can never get out of our heads.
Receipts
Confirmed (from public records and family/creator statements):
- Guy Moon died at age 63 following a traffic collision in Los Angeles on the morning of January 8, 2026, according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner.
- The cause was listed as traumatic injuries from the crash, per the Medical Examiner’s report as quoted in public coverage.
- His family confirmed his death in a Facebook statement, calling him their “beloved patriarch” and noting he was killed in a Thursday morning traffic collision.
- Moon was an Emmy-nominated television composer.
- He composed music for several Nickelodeon animated shows, including The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom, and collaborated on multiple series created by Butch Hartman, such as T.U.F.F. Puppy.
- Hartman publicly paid tribute to Moon on his social media stories after news of the composer’s death.
- Fans shared condolences and clips of Moon’s work on X after his passing was reported.
Unverified / Not Yet Publicly Detailed:
- Exact circumstances of the crash (who was at fault, speed, or any contributing factors) have not been fully detailed in publicly available reports.
- Any private medical details beyond the Medical Examiner’s finding of traumatic injuries.
Sources (human-readable): Public reporting citing the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office and the Moon family’s Facebook statement (January 2026); social-media tributes from colleagues and fans, including posts from creator Butch Hartman (January 2026).
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If Nickelodeon wasn’t your thing, here’s the short version: Guy Moon was one of those behind-the-scenes pros whose work quietly defined an era. Starting in the 1990s and especially through the 2000s, he became a go-to composer for animated television. On hits like The Fairly OddParents – a long-running series about a boy and his troublemaking fairy godparents – and Danny Phantom, about a teen ghost superhero, his music set the tone: quirky, kinetic, and surprisingly sophisticated for “just” a kids’ cartoon. He earned Emmy recognition along the way and built a decades-long career scoring television.
What’s Next
In the near term, this is a time of private mourning for Moon’s family, so don’t be surprised if details about services or a public memorial are limited or shared only later.
Professionally, expect to see a renewed spotlight on his catalog. When a creator dies, fans often rediscover the work – we’ll likely see more deep-dive videos, soundtrack uploads, and cast-and-crew memories surfacing over the coming weeks. It wouldn’t be shocking if future Nickelodeon-related projects, convention panels, or anniversary events include tributes to Moon’s contributions.
For the rest of us, this might be the nudge to actually read the credits we usually skip. The names after “Music by” and “Score by” are often the people who make our favorite scenes feel the way they feel – and Guy Moon was one of the greats of that world.
Question for you: Which TV theme or score instantly takes you back to a specific time in your life the way Guy Moon’s music does for Nickelodeon fans?
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