Jerry Goldsmith

Jerrald King "Jerry" Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was an American television and movie composer and conductor most known for his work in Air Force One, The Mummy, Gremlins, The Omen, five Star Trek movies, three Rambo movies, Poltergeist, Alien, and the 1968 movie version of Planet of the Apes.

Goldsmith in March 2003

He has won an 1 Academy Award, 5 Emmy Awards, 1 Annie Award, and 1 Saturn Award. His career began in 1951 and would last up until his death in 2004.

Goldsmith was born on February 10, 1929 in Los Angeles, California and also studied at the University of Southern California and at the Los Angeles City College.

Goldsmith has been married to Sharon Hennagin from 1950 until they divorced in 1970. Goldsmith lastly married Carol Heather from 1972 until his death in 2004. He has five children, one of his sons, Joel Goldsmith, died in 2012.

Goldsmith died on July 21, 2004 in his home in Beverly Hills, California from colon cancer, aged 75.

Influences

Goldsmith stated composers like Igor Stravinsky, Edward Elger, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Jakob Gimpel, Richard Wagner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Ludwig Von Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Thomas Tallis, Alban Berg, Gustav Holst, Elmer Bernstein, Alfred Newman, Miklós Róza, Henry Mancini, Buddy Baker, Leigh Harline, Oliver Wallace, Frank Churchill, Max Stiener, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Alex North, Bela Bartok, Carl W. Stalling, Franz Waxman, Leonard Rosenman, Raymond Scott and Lalo Schifrin as influences.