Editing Nelson Riddle (section)

==Later years==
[[File:Nelson Riddle - Conducts The 101 Strings.jpg|thumb|right|''Nelson Riddle Conducts The 101 Strings'' cover]]
In 1957, Riddle and his orchestra were featured on ''The [[Rosemary Clooney]] Show'', a 30-minute syndicated program.<ref name="mcneil">{{cite book |last=McNeil |first=Alex |year=1996 |title=Total Television |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=978-0140073775 |page=710}}</ref>

In 1962, Riddle orchestrated two albums for [[Ella Fitzgerald]], ''[[Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson]]'' and ''[[Ella Swings Gently with Nelson]]'', their first work together since 1959's ''[[Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book]]''. The mid-1960s would also see Fitzgerald and Riddle collaborate on the last of Ella's ''Songbook''s, devoted to the songs of [[Jerome Kern]] (''[[Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book]]'') and [[Johnny Mercer]] (''[[Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book]]'').

In 1963, Riddle joined Sinatra's newly established label [[Reprise Records]], under the musical direction of [[Morris Stoloff]].

In 1964, Riddle partnered with [[Tom Jobim]], who is considered to be one of the great exponents of Brazilian music and one of the main founders of the [[bossa nova]] movement. The record, titled ''[[The Wonderful World of Antônio Carlos Jobim]]'', was released in 1965.

In 1966, Riddle was hired by television producer [[William Dozier]] to create the music for the ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' television series starring [[Adam West]]. ([[Neal Hefti]] had written the ''Batman'' theme song and was originally hired for the series, but became unavailable.) Riddle did the first two seasons of ''Batman'' (sans two episodes scored by Warren Barker), along with the theatrically released ''[[Batman (1966 film)|Batman: The Movie]]''.{{sfn|Levinson|2005|p=215}} Billy May did the third season's music. Re-recordings of Riddle's music from ''Batman'' were issued on one soundtrack LP and a 45 RPM single. There was a "Batmanesque" tone in the soundtrack for [[Howard Hawks]]' [[John Wayne]] film ''[[El Dorado (1966 film)|El Dorado]]'', also scored by Riddle in 1966, due to his continued heavy use of brass.

Riddle was the musical director for 16 episodes of ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'' between 1967 and 1969.

Riddle's television work in the 1960s included his hit theme song and incidental music for ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]'', ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]]'' and ''[[The Rogues (TV series)|The Rogues]]''. His film work in the 1960s included the scores for the [[Rat Pack]] motion pictures ''[[Robin and the 7 Hoods]]'' and the original ''[[Ocean's 11]]''. In 1969, he arranged and conducted the music to the film ''[[Paint Your Wagon (film)|Paint Your Wagon]]'', which starred a trio of non-singers, [[Lee Marvin]], [[Clint Eastwood]] and [[Jean Seberg]].

In the latter half of the 1960s, the partnership between Riddle and Frank Sinatra grew more distant as Sinatra began increasingly to turn to [[Don Costa]], [[Billy May]] and an assortment of other arrangers for his album projects. Although Riddle would write various arrangements for Sinatra until the late 1970s, ''[[Strangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra album)|Strangers In The Night]]'', released in 1966, was the last full album project the pair completed together. The collection of Riddle-arranged songs was intended to expand on the success of the title track, which had been a number one hit single for Sinatra arranged by [[Ernie Freeman]].

''<span class="anchor" id="Nelson Riddle Conducts The 101 Strings">Nelson Riddle Conducts The 101 Strings</span>'' was recorded in London in 1970. Riddle had been without a recording contract for the first time in more than 25 years. It had been two years since his [[Liberty Records]] contract ended. That year, he flew to London and recorded an album with the [[101 Strings|101 Strings Orchestra]]. Produced by Jack Dorsey, it was released on [[Marble Arch Records]]. Biographer Peter J. Levinson offered a sober assessment of the project, arguing that Riddle was "out of his depth" with the fusion of contemporary and classical instrumentation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Levinson |first=Peter J. |date=2001 |title=September in the Rain; The Life of Nelson Riddle | location= |publisher=Billboard Books |page=237 |isbn=0-8230-7672-5}}</ref> The album went through several re-issues on the [[Alshire Records|Alshire label]] (including ''Nelson Riddle Arranges and Conducts 101 Strings'' (1970); ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' (1971); and ''Swingin' Songs'' (1972), minus "Bridge Over Troubled Water") and the [[Disques Vogue|Vogue Records]] label.

During the 1970s, Riddle's film and television efforts included the nostalgic adaptation score for the 1974 version of ''[[The Great Gatsby (1974 film)|The Great Gatsby]]'', which earned him his first [[Academy Award]], after some five nominations. In 1973, he served as musical director for the [[Emmy Award]]-winning ''[[The Julie Andrews Hour]]''. He wrote the theme songs for the 1972 television series ''[[Emergency!]]'' and the 1975 television series [[Caribe (American TV series)|''Caribe'']], and scored the 1977 miniseries ''[[Seventh Avenue (miniseries)|Seventh Avenue]]''. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra also made numerous concert appearances throughout the 1970s, some of which were led and contracted by his good friend, [[Tommy Shepard]].

On March 14, 1977, Riddle conducted his last three arrangements for Sinatra. "[[Linda (1946 song)|Linda]]", "[[Sweet Lorraine]]" and "Barbara", were intended for an album of songs with women's names. The album was never completed. "Sweet Lorraine" was released in 1990 and the other two were included in ''[[The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings]]'', released in 1995.

In 1978 Riddle was Musical Director for the [[50th Academy Awards]] ceremony, the only occasion on which he performed the task.

In December 1979, Riddle conducted and arranged "[[Something (Beatles song)|Something]]" for Sinatra's 1980 album "Trilogy". And in 1981, he also arranged and conducted the medley of "The Gal That Got Away" and "It Never Entered My Mind" for Sinatra's album "She Shot Me Down", which was the final time he worked for Frank.

1982 saw Riddle work for the last time with [[Ella Fitzgerald]], on her last orchestral [[Pablo Records|Pablo]] album, ''[[The Best Is Yet to Come (Ella Fitzgerald album)|The Best Is Yet to Come]]''.

Riddle had composed most of the [[incidental music]] for ''[[Newhart]]'', and the show's 71st episode was dedicated to his memory.