Jerry Goldsmith

In 1950, Goldsmith found work at CBS as a clerk typist in the network's music department under director Lud Gluskin.[4] There he began writing scores for such radio shows as CBS Radio Workshop, Frontier Gentleman, and Romance. In an interview with Andy Velez from BarnesandNoble.com, Goldsmith stated: "It was about 1950. CBS had a workshop, and once a week the employees, whatever their talents, whether they were ushers or typists, would produce a radio show. But you had to be an employee. They needed someone to do music, and I knew someone there who said I'd be great for this. I'd just gotten married and needed a job, so they faked a typing test for me. Then I could do these shows. About six months later, the music department heard what I did, liked it, and gave me a job."[7] He later progressed into scoring such live CBS television shows as Climax! and Playhouse 90. He also scored multiple episodes of the television series The Twilight Zone. He remained at CBS until 1960, after which he moved on to Revue Studios and then to MGM Studios for producer Norman Felton, whom he had worked for during live television and would later compose music for such television shows as Dr. Kildare and The Man from U.N.C.L.E..[4]

His feature film debut occurred when he composed the music for the western Black Patch (1957). He continued with scores to such films as the western Face of a Fugitive (also 1957)and the science fiction film City of Fear (1959).[8]

Goldsmith began the decade composing for such television shows as Dr. Kildare, Gunsmoke, and Thriller as well as the drama film The Spiral Road (1960). However, he only began receiving widespread name recognition after his intimate score to the western Lonely Are the Brave (1962). His involvement in the picture was the result of a recommendation by composer Alfred Newman who had been impressed with Goldsmith's score on the television show Thriller and took it upon himself to recommend Goldsmith to the head of Universal's music department, despite having never met him.[9] That same year, Goldsmith composed the mostly atonal and dissonant score to the biopic Freud (1962) that focused on a five-year period of the life of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Goldsmith's score led to him gaining his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, though he lost to fellow first-time nominee Maurice Jarre for his music to Lawrence of Arabia (also 1962). Goldsmith composed a score to The Stripper (1963), his first collaboration with director Franklin J. Schaffner for whom Goldsmith would later score the films Planet of the Apes (1968), Patton (1970), Papillon (1973), Islands in the Stream (1977), and The Boys from Brazil (1978).[8]

Following his success with Lonely Are the Brave and Freud, Goldsmith composed the theme music for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), and scores to such films as the western Rio Conchos, the political thriller Seven Days in May (both also 1964), the romantic drama A Patch of Blue (1965), the war film In Harm's Way (also 1965), the World War I air combat film The Blue Max (1966), the period naval war drama The Sand Pebbles (also 1966), the thriller Warning Shot (1967), the western Hour of the Gun (also 1967), and the mystery The Detective (1968).[10] He almost did not accept the assignment for The Blue Max when he watched the final cut with the producers who had temp-tracked it with Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra. He said: "I admit it worked fairly well but my first reaction was to get up and walk away from the job, but I couldn't. Once you've heard music like that with the picture, it makes your own scoring more difficult to arrive at, it clouds your thinking."[11] Goldsmith's scores to A Patch of Blue and The Sand Pebbles garnered him his second and third Academy Award nominations, respectively, and were both one of the 250 nominees for the American Film Institute's top twenty-five American film scores.[12] His scores for Seven Days in May and The Sand Pebbles also garnered Goldsmith his first two respective Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Original Score in 1965 and 1967.[13] During this time, he also composed for many lighter, comedic films such as the family comedy The Trouble with Angels (1966), the James Bond parodies Our Man Flint (1966) and its sequel In Like Flint (1967), and the comedy The Flim-Flam Man (1967).[8]

Goldsmith gained attention for the score of the post-apocalyptic science fiction film Planet of the Apes (1968), which was one of the first to be written entirely in an Avant garde style. When scoring Planet of the Apes, Goldsmith used such innovative techniques as looping drums into an echoplex, using the orchestra to imitate the grunting sounds of apes, having horns blown without mouthpieces, and instructing the woodwind players to finger their keys without using any air. He also used stainless steel mixing bowls,[14] among other objects, to create unique percussive sounds.[8] The score resulted in another Goldsmith nomination for the Best Original Score Oscar and ranks in No. 18 on the American Film Institute's top twenty-five American film scores.[12] Though he did not return to compose for its sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Goldsmith scored the third installment in the Planet of the Apes franchise, Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971).

Goldsmith concluded the decade with scores to such films as the western Bandolero! (1968), the spy thriller The Chairman, the science fiction film The Illustrated Man, and the western 100 Rifles (all 1969). He composed the theme for the comedy-drama television series Room 222 which debuted in 1969.[8]

Throughout the score for the World War II biopic Patton (1970), Goldsmith used an echoplex to loop recorded sounds of "call to war" triplets played on the trumpet that musically represented General George S. Patton's belief in reincarnation. The main theme also consisted of a symphonic march accompanied by a pipe organ to represent the protagonist's militaristic and deeply religious nature.[15] The film's music subsequently earned Goldsmith an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score and was one of the American Film Institute's 250 nominees for the top twenty-five American film scores.[12] Goldsmith's critical success continued with his emotional score to the prison escape film Papillon (1973), which also earned him an Academy Award nomination. In 1973, Goldsmith also wrote the theme for the TV series Barnaby Jones.[12]

Goldsmith was faced with the daunting task of replacing a score by composer Phillip Lambro to the neo-film noir Chinatown (1974). With only ten days to compose and record an entirely new score, Goldsmith quickly produced a score that mixed an eastern music sound with elements of jazz in an ensemble that only featured a trumpet, four pianos, four harps, two percussionists, and a string section.[16][17] Goldsmith received an Academy Award nomination for his efforts though he lost to Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola for The Godfather Part II. The score to Chinatown ranks No. 9 on the AFI's list of top 25 American film scores.[12] It was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.[13]

Goldsmith earned further critical praise with his score to the period adventure film The Wind and the Lion (1975), which relied upon a diverse ensemble including many Moroccan instruments and a large percussion section.[18] The score garnered Goldsmith an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score, though he lost to John Williams for his score to Jaws. The Wind and the Lion was also one of the AFI's 250 nominees for the top twenty-five American film scores.[12]

Goldsmith composed a dark choral score to the horror film The Omen (1976), which was the first film score to feature the use of a choir in an avant-garde style.[19] The score was successful among critics and garnered Goldsmith his only Academy Award for Best Original Score and a nomination for Best Original Song for "Ave Satani".[20] His wife, Carol Heather Goldsmith, also wrote lyrics and performed a vocal track titled "The Piper Dreams" released solely on the soundtrack album.[19] Goldsmith would go on to compose for two more entries in the franchise; Damien: Omen II (1978) and Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981).

He continued to have critical success with scores to such films as the dystopian science fiction Logan's Run (1976), the period drama Islands in the Stream (1977, a score which remained one of his personal favorites),[21] the science fiction suspense Coma, the science fiction thriller Capricorn One (both 1978), the disaster film The Swarm (also 1978), the period comedy The Great Train Robbery (1979), and his Academy Award-nominated score to the science fiction thriller The Boys from Brazil (1978), in which he utilized lively waltzes to juxtapose the film's concept of cloning Adolf Hitler.[22]

Goldsmith composed a score to the science fiction film Alien (1979). His score featured an orchestra augmented by an Indian conch horn, didgeridoo, steel drum, and serpent (a 16th-century instrument), while creating further "alien" sounds by delaying string pizzicati through an echoplex. Many of the instruments were used in such atypical ways they were virtually unidentifiable. His score was, however, heavily edited during post-production and Goldsmith was required to rewrite music for several scenes. The final score resulted in several pieces being moved, replaced, or cut entirely. Director Ridley Scott and editor Terry Rawlings also, without Goldsmith's consent, purchased the rights to the "Main Title" from Freud (1962) which they used during the acid blood sequence.[23] Despite the heavy edits and rewrites, Goldsmith's score for the film earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score[13] and was one of the AFI's 250 nominees for the top twenty-five American film scores.[12]

Goldsmith concluded the decade composing the score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).[24] Having been Gene Roddenberry's initial choice to compose the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage" yet being unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts, Goldsmith was the first pick of both Paramount Pictures and director Robert Wise to compose a score for The Motion Picture.[25] Faced with composing a new Star Trek theme for the film, Goldsmith initially struggled for inspiration, and proceeded to compose as much of the score as possible before the need to develop the main title theme. His initial score for the scene in which the newly-refit Starship Enterprise is revealed to the audience was not well received by the filmmakers, director Robert Wise feeling that it lacked a strong thematic hook and evoked sailing ships. Though somewhat irked by its rejection, Goldsmith consented to re-work his initial idea and finally arrived at the Star Trek theme which was ultimately used.[26] The film's soundtrack also provided a debut for the Blaster Beam, an electronic instrument 12 to 15 feet (3.7 to 4.6 m) long, created by musician Craig Huxley.[27][28] The Blaster had steel wires connected to amplifiers fitted to the main piece of aluminum; the device was played with an artillery shell. Goldsmith heard it and immediately decided to use it for V'Ger's cues.[29] An enormous pipe organ first plays the V'Ger theme on the Enterprise's approach, a literal indication of the machine's power.[30] His score for The Motion Picture earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations,[13] and was one of the AFI's 250 nominees for the top twenty-five American film scores.[12] Goldsmith would later compose the scores for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) (which included a revised arrangement of the theme from The Motion Picture), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), as well as the theme to the television series Star Trek: Voyager in 1995. In addition, his theme for The Motion Picture, as arranged by Dennis McCarthy, was reused as the theme for Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987.[31][32]

Throughout the 1980s, Goldsmith found himself increasingly scoring science fiction and fantasy films in the ongoing wake of Star Wars (1977), composing for such films as The Omen sequels Damien: Omen II (1978) and Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981), space western Outland (1981), animated fantasy The Secret of NIMH (1982), and the film adaptation of The Twilight Zone, which he composed in four different styles to accompany the film's four stories.[33]

Goldsmith was hired to compose the music to the Tobe Hooper-directed horror film Poltergeist (1982). He wrote several themes for the film including a gentle lullaby for the protagonist Carol Anne and her family's suburban life, a semi-religious theme for scenes concerning the souls trapped between the two worlds, and bombastic atonal bursts during scenes of horror.[34] The film's score garnered him an Oscar nomination, though he lost again to John Williams for Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

He did, however, still manage to compose for such non-fantasy productions as the period television miniseries Masada (1981) winning an Emmy Award, the war film Inchon (1982), the action adventure First Blood (also 1982), and his Oscar- and Golden Globe Award-nominated score to political drama Under Fire (1983) in which he used the ethnic sounds of a South American pan flute, synthetic elements, and the prominently featured solo work of jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.[13][35]

Throughout the decade, many of his compositions became increasingly laced with synthetic elements such as his scores for the horror sequel Psycho II (1983), the comedy horror film Gremlins (1984, winning a Saturn Award for Best Music),[36] the fantasy superhero adaptation Supergirl (1984), Ridley Scott fantasy Legend (1985, initially heard only in European prints and then years later in a 2002 director's cut),[37] action sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), family fantasy Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (also 1985), and horror movie sequel Poltergeist II (1986), a more synthetic score than the original and the first of two sequels.[8][38] He garnered another Oscar nomination for his innovative, critically acclaimed score to sports drama Hoosiers (1986), though he lost to Herbie Hancock for Round Midnight.[39] The score incorporates synthesizers, orchestra, and the recorded sounds of basketball hits on a gymnasium floor.

During the same period, Goldsmith scored the Michael Crichton film Runaway (1984), the composer's first all-electronic score. In an interview with Keyboard magazine in 1984, Goldsmith said that in order to simulate the ambiance of a real orchestra, several speakers were set up in an actual orchestra hall similar to how they would be arranged if they were live players. The playback was re-recorded to capture the feel of the hall.

Goldsmith finished out the decade with noteworthy scores to such films as the science-fiction fantasy family film Explorers (1985), medieval adventure Lionheart, science fiction comedy Innerspace (both 1987), action film Rambo III (1988), the science fiction horror Leviathan, and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (both 1989), his second Star Trek film score.[8] Goldsmith's score to Leviathan incorporated the use of recorded whale sounds during the main titles.[40] His comedy score to The 'Burbs (1989) made use of pipe organ, recorded dog barking sound effects, and for parodying the trumpet "call to war" triplets on an echoplex from his previous score to Patton (1970).[41]

Receiving critical acclaim for his music for the romantic drama The Russia House (1990), Goldsmith's score featured a unique mixture of Russian music and jazz to complement the nationalities and characteristics of the two main characters.[42] He also composed critically acclaimed music for the science fiction action film Total Recall (also 1990), which Goldsmith later regarded as one of his best scores.[43] Other scores of the era include Gremlins 2: The New Batch (also 1990, a film in which Goldsmith also made a brief cameo appearance),[44] the psychological thriller Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), the family comedy Mom and Dad Save the World, the fantasy romance Forever Young (both 1992), the thriller The Vanishing, and the family comedy Dennis the Menace (both 1993).[8] Goldsmith also composed a critically acclaimed score for the medical drama Medicine Man (1992).[45] In concert, Goldsmith would later recount a story of how actor Sean Connery copied Goldsmith's signature ponytail hairstyle for his character Robert Campbell in the film.

Goldsmith composed and conducted a score to the erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992). The soundtrack, an unsettling hybrid of orchestral and electronic elements, garnered him another Oscar nomination as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination[13] and was later regarded by the composer as one of his most challenging works.[46][47] He wrote an acclaimed score for the classic sports film Rudy (1993),[48] which has since been used in the trailers for numerous films including Angels in the Outfield (1994), Good Will Hunting (1997), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), and Seabiscuit (2003). It was also heard on the TV spot of "The Little Vampire" (2000) and an Arnold Schwarzenegger fitness advert.[49]

Goldsmith composed acclaimed scores for such films as the superhero adaptation The Shadow, the thriller The River Wild, the romantic comedy I.Q. (all 1994), the science fiction drama Powder, the action film Congo, the fantasy adventure First Knight (all 1995), the action film Executive Decision, and his third Star Trek film installment Star Trek: First Contact (both 1996) which he composed with his son Joel Goldsmith.[50] Goldsmith also composed the theme for the UPN series Star Trek: Voyager (which debuted in 1995) for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. In 2020, Newsweek magazine said that the Voyager theme was the best of all Star Trek television series' theme songs.[51]

Goldsmith composed the critically successful score to the horror action film The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) which featured a traditional Irish folk melody interwoven with African rhythms.[52] He was hired to replace a score by Randy Newman for Air Force One (1997). Goldsmith, with the assistance of composer Joel McNeely, completed the brassy, heroic score in only twelve days.[53] Goldsmith also composed a percussive, jazzy score for the critically acclaimed crime drama L.A. Confidential (also 1997).[54] His score garnered him Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominations, and was also one of the AFI's 250 nominees for the top twenty-five American film scores.[12][13]

Goldsmith composed a new theme for the Universal Pictures opening logo, first heard in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). The studio continues to use this theme, with a new arrangement of it scored by Brian Tyler to accompany the studio's current opening logo, introduced with The Lorax (2012) to coincide with the celebration of the studio's 100th anniversary.[55][56][57] Goldsmith also continued with scores for such films as the 1997 survival drama The Edge (also 1997), his fourth Star Trek film installment, Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), the science fiction horror Deep Rising, the action thriller U.S. Marshals and the science fiction film Small Soldiers (all also 1998).[8] He also composed a score of combined Eastern, orchestral, and synthetic elements for the Disney-animated film Mulan (also 1998), which subsequently earned him his final Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominations along with songwriter Matthew Wilder and lyricist David Zippel.[13][58]

Goldsmith concluded the decade with critically successful scores to such popular films as action adventure horror The Mummy, the horror film The Haunting, and the action adventure The 13th Warrior (1999).[8] In 1999, he also composed "Fanfare for Oscar" for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[55]

During the early years of the 2000s, Goldsmith composed scores to the science fiction thriller Hollow Man (2000), the mystery film Along Came a Spider, the drama The Last Castle (both 2001), the action/political thriller The Sum of All Fears, and his last Star Trek film Star Trek: Nemesis (both 2002).[8] Goldsmith had composed the scores to five of the first ten Star Trek movies up to that point. Goldsmith also composed an original score to the simulator attraction Soarin' Over California which debuted 8 February 2001 at the Disneyland Resort, and the same attraction Soarin' which opened 5 May 2005 in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was later said that when Goldsmith first rode the ride, he left in tears and said, "I'd do anything to be part of this project. I'd even score the film for free."[59]

Goldsmith's final cinematic score, composed during declining health, was the critically acclaimed music for the live action/animated film Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), directed by long-time Goldsmith collaborator Joe Dante.[60] His last work was with another long-time collaborator, Richard Donner (for whom Goldsmith had scored The Omen in 1976), on the science fiction film Timeline (also 2003). However, due to a complicated post-production process, Goldsmith's score had to be replaced. Goldsmith's score was used for the preliminary cuts. But the score didn't fit the later cuts of the film and had to be re-scored. Goldsmith's unavailability led to composer Brian Tyler taking over. Goldsmith's unused score was later released on CD, 7 September 2004 through Varèse Sarabande, less than two months after his death in July. The album quickly became out of print.[61]

Goldsmith composed the fanfares accompanying the production logos for multiple major film studios. He composed the 1985 Carolco Pictures fanfare and the Cinergi Pictures fanfare, with Bruce Broughton conducting the fanfare.

With the release of The Lost World: Jurassic Park, his 1997 opening fanfare for Universal Pictures debuted. His work on the fanfare would later be re-composed by John Williams for the 20th anniversary of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a film in which Williams composed the film's score, with a customized fanfare, merging the Universal fanfare and the film's main theme, and the full Universal fanfare, only used in The Scorpion King, and re-arranged by Brian Tyler for the studio's 100th anniversary.

The American Film Institute respectively ranked Goldsmith's scores for Chinatown (1974) and Planet of the Apes (1968) No. 9 and No. 18 on their list of the 25 greatest film scores.[12] He is one of only five composers to have more than one score featured in the list, including Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, and John Williams. His scores for the following films were also nominated for inclusion:

• Alien (1979)
• L.A. Confidential (1997)
• The Omen (1976)
• Papillon (1973)
• A Patch of Blue (1965)
• Patton (1970)
• The Sand Pebbles (1966)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• The Wind and the Lion (1975)

• The Lineup (TV series, 1954)
• Climax! (TV series, 1954)
• Black Patch (1957)
• Westinghouse Studio One: Tongue of Angels Season 10 episode 24 (live TV drama, 1958)
• Face of a Fugitive (1959)
• City of Fear (1959)
• Playhouse 90 (TV series, 1959)
• The Twilight Zone (TV series, 1959)
• Perry Mason (1959 TV series incidental music, episode 3–75)

• Hollow Man (2000)
• Soarin' Over California (simulator ride, 2001)
• Along Came a Spider (2001)
• The Last Castle (2001)
• The Sum of All Fears (2002)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
• Timeline (rejected, 2003)
• The Kennedy Center Honors (That's Pure Mike Nichols song 2003)