1950s and work at CBS In 1950, Goldsmith found work at
CBS as a clerk typist in the network's music department under director
Lud Gluskin. 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
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for producer
Norman Felton, whom he had worked for during live TV and would later compose music for shows produced by
MGM Television such as
Dr. Kildare and
The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
1960s Goldsmith began the decade composing for such television shows as
Dr. Kildare,
Gunsmoke, and
Thriller as well as the drama film
The Spiral Road (1962). However, he began receiving widespread name recognition only 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. That same year, Goldsmith composed the mostly
atonal and
dissonant score to the biopic
Freud (1962) that depicted 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),
The Boys from Brazil (1978) and
Lionheart (1987). 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." 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. 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. 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). among other objects, to create unique percussive sounds. 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. 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. 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 9 on the AFI's list of top 25 American film scores. 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. 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". His wife, Carol Heather Goldsmith, also wrote lyrics and performed a vocal track titled "The Piper Dreams" released solely on the soundtrack album. the science fiction suspense
Coma (1978), the science fiction thriller
Capricorn One (1977), the disaster film
The Swarm (1978), the period comedy
The Great Train Robbery (also 1978), and his Academy Award-nominated score to the science fiction thriller
The Boys from Brazil (1978), in which he utilized lively
waltzes juxtaposed against the film's concept of cloning
Adolf Hitler. 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. In the final score several pieces were moved, replaced, or cut. 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. Despite the heavy edits and rewrites, Goldsmith's score for the film earned him a
Golden Globe Award nomination for
Best Original Score 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. 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 refitted 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. The film's soundtrack also provided a debut for the
Blaster Beam, an electronic instrument long, created by musician
Craig Huxley. 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. An enormous pipe organ first plays the V'Ger theme on the
Enterprises approach, a literal indication of the machine's power. His score for
The Motion Picture earned him
Academy Award and
Golden Globe Award nominations,
1980s Throughout the 1980s, Goldsmith found himself increasingly scoring science fiction and fantasy films in the persistent 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. 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. 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 sound of a South American
pan flute, synthetic elements, and the prominently featured solo work of jazz guitarist
Pat Metheny. 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), 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), 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. 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. 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. 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).
1990s 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. 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. Other scores of the era include
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (also 1990, a film in which Goldsmith also made a brief
cameo appearance), 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). 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 also composed the musical score to
The Edge starring Sir Anthony Hopkins in 1997. 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 He wrote an acclaimed score for the classic sports film
Rudy (1993), 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 commercial. {{Listen 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. 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. 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. 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. Goldsmith also composed a percussive, jazzy score for the critically acclaimed crime drama
L.A. Confidential (also 1997). 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. 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). 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). Goldsmith's final cinematic score, composed during declining health, was the critically acclaimed music for the live-action/animated hybrid film
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), directed by long-time Goldsmith collaborator
Joe Dante. One of his last works 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, September 7, 2004, through
Varèse Sarabande, less than two months after his death in July. The album quickly became out of print.
Studio fanfares Goldsmith composed the fanfares accompanying the
production logos for multiple major
film studios. He composed the 1976 fanfare for
Paramount Pictures, which was used mainly for its
home video label, as well as the 1988
Carolco Pictures fanfare and the
Cinergi Pictures fanfare, with
Bruce Broughton conducting the Sinfonia of London's performance of it. 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 composed and arranged by
Brian Tyler for the studio's 100th anniversary. ==Concert works==