Jerry Goldsmith

Award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith started in radio, progressed to scoring TV shows (notably "Gunsmoke" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E") and finally became arguably the most prolific quality film composer of all time. Despite a rigorous eclecticism established early in his career, ranging from the atonal ("Freud" 1962) to occasional jazz ("Our Man Flint" 1965), his style is immediately recognizable for its tight, relatively lean, percussive-rhythmic sound, chock-full of inventive energy and succulent melody, beautifully orchestrated. Goldsmith first worked with director Franklin J Schaffner on "The Stripper" (1963), and the two did six more films together, including "Planet of the Apes" (1968), 1970's Oscar-winning Best Picture "Patton", "Papillon" (1973) and "Islands in the Stream" (1976).

Goldsmith received his first Academy Award nomination for "Freud", and an unbroken string of nods from 1973-76 culminated in his lone win for Richard Donner's "The Omen". His other nominated scores include "A Patch of Blue" (1965), "The Sand Pebbles" (1966), "Chinatown" (1974), "Hoosiers" (1986) and "Basic Instinct" (1992). He has had far better luck bringing home the prize for his TV work, having won five Emmy Awards, most recently for the main title theme music for the syndicated series "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995- ). Goldsmith's association with the sci-fi series began with "Star Trek: The Movie" (1979) and also includes the features "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) and "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996) as well as providing music for the syndicated series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-94).

Goldsmith's most frequent collaborator in recent years has been Joe Dante, who, in addition to directing eight films with Goldsmith scores, gave the composer his first acting role in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" (1990, as a yogurt customer). The composer first worked with director Curtis Hanson on "The River Wild" (1994), reteaming with him for the enormously successful "L.A. Confidential" (1997). Goldsmith has scored over 150 films and, at the rate he works, will undoubtedly reach the 200 milestone. Stephen Hopkins' "Lost in Space" and Stuart Baird's "U.S. Marshals" (the sequel to 1993's blockbuster "The Fugitive") are among the 1998 releases with a Goldsmith score.

• Also Credited As:
  Jerrald Goldsmith
• Born:
  February 10, 1929 in Los Angeles, California
• Died:
  July 21, 2004.
• Job Titles:
  Composer, Conductor, Musician, Actor, Producer, Clerk

Family

• Daughter: Carrie Goldsmith. from first marriage
• Daughter: Ellen Goldsmith. from first marriage
• Daughter: Jennifer Goldsmith. from first marriage
• Father: Morris Goldsmith.
• Mother: Tessa Goldsmith.
• Son: Aaron Goldsmith. mother, Carol Heather Sheinkopf
• Son: Joel Goldsmith. from first marriage; born on November 19, 1957; among his many credits, provided additional music for "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996), scored by father

Significant Others

• Wife: . divorced in 1971; mother of Goldsmith's four older children

Education

• Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California, piano

Milestones

• 1954 TV debut, provided music for the series, "Climax!"
• 1957 Feature debut, credited for music, "Black Patch"
• 1958 First feature as music conductor, also provided music, "City of Fear"
• 1959 Scored episodes of the popular series, "The Twilight Zone"
• 1960 First major film scoring opportunity, "Lonely Are the Brave"
• 1962 Earned first Academy Award nomination for the score to John Huston's "Freud"
• 1963 Initial collaboration with Franklin J Schaffner, "The Stripper"
• 1965 Provided additional music for Carol Reed's, "The Agony and the Ecstasy"
• 1967 TV series producing debut, "The Las Vegas Show"
• 1969 Debut as concert conductor with his own cantata "Christus Apollo" (text by Ray Bradbury), performed by Southern California Chamber Society
• 1970 Provided score for Academy Award-winning Best Picture "Patton"; third of seven collaborations with director Schaffner and second Academy Award nomination
• 1970 TV-movie debut, music credit, "The Brotherhood of the Bell"
• 1973 Picked up first Emmy for NBC movie "The Red Pony"
• 1974 Earned Oscar nod for his atmospheric music for Roman Polanski's "Chinatown"
• 1976 Composed Oscar-winning score for "The Omen"; also nominated for Best Song for "Avi Satani"
• 1979 First association with "Star Trek"; provided the Oscar-nominated original score for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"
• 1983 Initial collaboration with Joe Dante, "It's a Good Life" episode of "Twilight Zone - The Movie"
• 1987 Provided music for syndicated series "Star Trek: The Next Generation"
• 1987 Seventh and final collaboration with Schaffner, "Lionheart"
• 1989 Scored "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier"; also wrote song "The Moon's a Window to Heaven"
• 1990 First on-screen appearance as a yogurt customer in Dante's "Gremlins 2: The New Batch"
• 1992 Made first TV appearance as part of the special, "Disney's Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra"
• 1992 Received 16th Oscar nomination for scoring "Basic Instinct"
• 1994 Initial collaboration with director Curtis Hanson on "The River Wild"
• 1995 Wrote theme for sydicated series "Star Trek: Voyager"
• 1996 Continued on the mission with "Star Trek: First Contact"
• 1997 Reteamed with Hanson for "L.A. Confidential"
• 1998 Composed "Fanfare for Oscar", a 45-second theme for the Academy Awards
• 1998 Eighth collaboration with Dante, "Small Soldiers"
• Born and raised in the Los Angeles area