SAULT STE. MARIE - Jeff Toyne believed he and his team achieved something special when they wrapped up production on the popular Apple TV+ series Palm Royale.
On Sunday night, that belief was validated in the form of one of television’s highest honours.
Toyne, a Sault-born composer and Sir James Dunn graduate, won the Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music at the two-day Creative Arts portion of the 76th awards show.
He wrote the colourful music for Palm Royale — a 1960s comedy-drama starring Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin and Carol Burnett.
The show was nominated for 11 Emmys this past weekend. Toyne claimed their only victory.
“It was a surprise,” he admitted. “Shogun was walking away with so many awards, so we were trying to get used to the idea that was probably going to happen in the music category as well.”
“Once it was announced, then it just goes into a blur,” he added. “It was very exciting to have Parker Posey hand me the award. Then to give a speech to a room full of fantastic filmmakers — it was very gratifying. We’re happy we could bring it home for the show.”
As readers learned last month, Toyne’s leadup to his biggest career moment was no accident.
His musical roots can be traced back to the Sault at a very young age when he learned how to play the piano through the conservatory and private lessons.
A graduate from Anna McCrea and the Dunn, Toyne’s creative aspirations carried him through his Master’s at the University of British Columbia and post-graduate studies at the University of Southern California.
In the 20 years since, the Sault native has freelanced in Los Angeles and played supportive roles in the music department for more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows.
But as the department’s lead for Palm Royale, Toyne knew this project was different.
“The cast is a Murderer's Row of comedic talent, so their comedic performances are the big draw to begin,” he said. “Then, the level of detail the artisans in the other crafts brought were very inspiring. The detail in costumes, hair and makeup, production design — all of that was a feast for the eyes and the ears.”
Toyne’s Emmy-winning title theme music, as well as the score of the show, paid homage to the location and timeline the series is based upon: Palm Beach, Florida in 1969.
The opening even featured a 50-piece orchestra with soloists recorded on top of that.
“It had quite a bit going on — a couple mood changes and themes even though it’s only a minute long,” he told SooToday in August. “It was a little bit of a kitchen sink piece of music. Lots of different colours.”
Sitting in the front row while Toyne was accepting the Emmy in Los Angeles on Sunday night was long-time friend and colleague Abe Sylvia, the creator of Palm Royale, who was seated next to the show’s star Kristen Wiig.
Toyne’s friendship and collaboration with Sylvia over the years was a main point of discussion on a recent episode of Village Media’s Behind the Scenes, which readers can watch by clicking here.
“It was great to be able to share that achievement with him, in front of him, and because of him,” he said. “We’ve been doing this together for a while. It’s a terrific step on our journey that we’ve been enjoying for the last 20 years, and I'm really looking forward to continuing that.”
Shortly after giving his acceptance speech to a crowd of Hollywood’s most talented, including his wife and film composer Aiko Fukushima, Toyne phoned two very important people in his life to share the good news.
“I called my parents in the upstairs press room minutes after I was handed the award,” he said. “They’re very proud. I think my dad is still working the phones, making sure everybody knows.”
Toyne was actually nominated for two Emmys last weekend, the other for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score). Siddhartha Khosla, a composer on the hit Disney+ show Only Murders in the Building, claimed that prize.
“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” he said. “We’re really happy for him as well.”
SooToday asked Toyne last month where he’d display the hardware if he were to win. At the time, the composer jokingly said he would never put it down, but after carrying the Emmy around for a couple days, he may change his mind.
“It’s actually pretty heavy,” he laughed. “Walking around with it would probably help me achieve my fitness goals, but I will have to find a place for it. To start, it’ll be pretty prominent — maybe on the kitchen counter for a while. It’s a lot bigger than you think it’s going to be, it takes up a lot of space.”
Toyne is already looking forward to embarking on a second season of Palm Royale, which will begin shooting at the end of the month.
While he doesn’t know if he’ll ever win another Emmy, the Sault-born composer is happy to take this one all in.
“I’d be delighted to have it happen again, but I do appreciate the rarity of the moment,” he said. “The show was special, and the music turned out to be pretty special too.”
