Jerry Goldsmith

Jerry Goldsmith
Goldsmith in 2003
Goldsmith in 2003
Background information
Birth nameJerrald King Goldsmith
Born(1929-02-10)February 10, 1929
Los Angeles, California
DiedJuly 21, 2004(2004-07-21) (aged 75)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
GenresFilm score, contemporary classical music
Occupation(s)Composer, conductor
Years active1951–2004
Spouse(s)
  • Sharon Hennagin
    (m. 1950; div. 1970)
  • Carol Heather
    (m. 1972)

Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was an American composer known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the Star Trek franchise and three in the Rambo franchise, as well as for films including Logan's Run, Planet of the Apes, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Patton, Papillon, Chinatown, The Omen, Alien, Poltergeist, The Secret of NIMH, Medicine Man, Gremlins, Hoosiers, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Air Force One, L.A. Confidential, Mulan, and The Mummy. He also composed the fanfares accompanying the production logos used by multiple major film studios, and music for the Disney attraction Soarin'.

He collaborated with directors including Robert Wise, Howard Hawks, Otto Preminger, Joe Dante, Richard Donner, Richard Fleischer, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton, Roman Polanski, Gordon Douglas, Fred Schepisi, Paul Verhoeven, and Franklin J. Schaffner. His work for Donner and Scott also involved a rejected score for Timeline and a controversially edited score for Alien, where music by Howard Hanson replaced Goldsmith's end titles and Goldsmith's own work on Freud: The Secret Passion was used without his approval in several scenes.

Goldsmith was nominated for six Grammy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and eighteen Academy Awards (winning in 1976 for The Omen).