Film Composers

We often hear about our favorite movie stars passing away, but only occasionally do we hear about the loss of film composers. The last month has seen the passing of three of the greatest film composers of all time.

Elmer Bernstein died last Wednesday the 18th at age 82. Bernstein composed the scores for over 250 films and television shows. He had so many classic themes that everyone recognizes immediately, The Magnificent Seven being perhaps the most famous.

Bernstein first gained recognition for incorporating jazz elements into his scores for such films as The Man With The Golden Arm and The Sweet Smell Of Success, but he was also known for creating melodic themes for sweeping epics such as The Ten Commandments and The Great Escape. He could also create tender, intimate scores for films such as To Kill A Mocking Bird, The Birdman Of Alcatraz and Hud.

Bernstein also created memorable TV themes such as for the National Geographic Specials and Gunsmoke. After the success of The Magnificent Seven, he was enlisted to compose for many westerns, often starring John Wayne, including The Sons Of Katie Elder, True Grit, and The Shootist.

Late in his career, Bernstein composed themes for a number of now-classic comedies, including Meatballs, The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, Trading Places, and Ghostbusters. He also composed the mysterious incidental music for Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

Elmer Bernstein was nominated for Oscar awards 14 times, but won only once, ironically for Thoroughly Modern Millie, which was mostly an adaptation of music from other composers.

(National Public Radio had a nice retrospective.)

David Raksin is not a name most people recognize, but you have surely heard his music before. Raksin began his career in the mid-1930s, the golden age of film music, and he composed for such memorable films as The Bad And The Beautiful, Suddenly, and Pat and Mike. His most famous theme, however, will always be 1944’s Laura.

David Raksin died August 9 of heart failure. He was 92.

Jerry Goldsmith, who passed away July 22 at age 75, was one of my favorite film composers. The prolific Goldsmith composed over 300 scores for film and television and it is hard to underestimate his influence on the industry. There are no words fit to describe the profound impact of Mr. Goldsmith’s work, so I’ll simply offer a summary list highlighting his credits and let you “ooh” and “ah” for yourself.

Television: The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Perry Mason, Raw Hide, Dr. Kildare, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, The Waltons, Barnaby Jones, Police Story, Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and many more.

Movies: Lonely Are The Brave, Lilies Of The Field, The List Of Adrian Messenger, Seven Days In May, Von Ryan’s Express, A Patch Of Blue, In Harm’s Way, Agony And The Ecstasy, The Sand Pebbles, Seconds, Our Man Flint, Bandolero!, Patton, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Papillon, Chinatown, The Wind And The Lion, Logan’s Run, The Omen, Islands In The Stream, Coma, Capricorn One, The Boys From Brazil, Magic, Alien, Outland, Poltergeist, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Under Fire, The Secret Of Nimh, First Blood (Rambo), Gremlins, Legend, Hoosiers, Innerspace, Rent-A-Cop, Wall Street, Total Recall, Medicine Man, Basic Instinct, Six Degrees Of Separation, Rudy, L.A. Confidential, Air Force One, Mulan, The Mummy, and on and on and on…

He also wrote the “Fanfare for Oscar” for The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (we hear it every Oscars broadcast) and the fanfare Universal Pictures, which we hear when we see the spinning globe before their movies.

My favorite score of Mr. Goldsmith’s, besides Alien and Poltergeist, has to be his most revered classic, Planet Of The Apes. Ask any young musician writing for films today and they will surely tell you that Planet Of The Apes was one of the films that inspired them to become a composer. Goldsmith broke all the rules by creating a 12-tone soundscape with non-traditional percussion (beating on pots and pans!) to evoke an odd, primitive view of an alien world. For freaky, spine-chilling effect, it simply hasn’t been topped.

Jerry Goldsmith was nominated for Oscars 17 times, and won only once, for The Omen.

(NPR also had an appreciation for Jerry Goldsmith, and you can hear the Main Title for Planet Of The Apes here.)