By Lydia Furuta
During a career that spanned nearly 50 years, Weston worked with stars including Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye, Roy Rogers and Judy Garland, among many others.
As a composer, Weston turned out such songs as ``Day by Day'', ``I Should Care'', ``Shrimp Boats'', ``Autumn in Rome'' and ``When April Comes Again.''
Weston began his musical career while a student at Dartmouth, from which he graduated in 1933, as the band conductor and music arranger. While doing graduate work at Columbia University, he sold arrangements that were subsequently heard by Vallee, who hired him as an arranger for his ''Fleischman Hour'' on radio.
In 1940, Weston came to Hollywood to work for the Bob Crosby Orchestra, with whom he did the Paramount feature ``Holiday Inn'' with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. He later worked as the musical director of Capitol Records, where he developed much of his distinctive style. In 1950, Weston became the West Coast director of artists and repertoire at Columbia Records.
In 1960, he received a Grammy for best comedy album, along with his wife, singer Jo Stafford, with whom he created the fictional duo of Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, a farcical lounge act that earned the pair a cult following. Seven years later, he went to NBC as musical director, where he oversaw the hit TV variety show ``Laugh In'' during its 1968 initial season. He then served as the musical director of ``The Bob Newhart Show,'' followed by two years with Jonathan Winters and two with Jim Nabors at CBS.
In the early '70s, Weston retired from television and served as musical director for the jointly produced NBC and Disney live-arena show, ``Disney on Parade.''
He later formed his own companies, Hanover Music Corp. and Corinthian Records. He was honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in 1971 with the Trustees' award for leading the Academy through its earliest years. Weston was a founder of NARAS and served as the first national president.
In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by a daughter, Amy, who is a professional singer, and four grandchildren.