James David Buttolph Jr. (August 3, 1902 – January 1, 1983) was an American film composer who scored over 300 movies^[1] in his career. Born in New York City, Buttolph showed musical talent at an early age, and eventually studied music formally. After earning a music degree, Buttolph moved to Europe in 1923^[2][1] and studied in Austria and Germany supporting himself as a nightclub pianist. He returned to the U.S. in 1927^[1] and, a few years later, began working for NBC radio network as an arranger and conductor. In 1933, Buttolph moved to Los Angeles and began working in films. Buttolph's best work, according to many, was his work as an arranger on the Alfred Newman score for The Mark of Zorro (1940).

In the mid-1950s, Buttolph started to compose scores for television, the most memorable being the theme for the TV western Maverick^[3] starring James Garner with the same music appearing in his score of The Lone Ranger (1956). He continued to compose music for television, many of which were westerns, until his retirement in 1963.