He was a smith who forged gold from the basest of materials – film music’s alchemist extraordinaire. Once John Williams kickstarted his blockbuster hog, Jerry Goldsmith may have been destined for the side car, but he possessed a refined genius all his own.
Goldsmith was a consummate professional with a rare talent for speed. When Randy Newman was dropped from “Air Force One,” it was Goldsmith who stepped up, writing and recording the music in less than two weeks. He wrote the replacement score for “Chinatown” in ten days.
Unfortunately, not all the films were “Chinatown.” For every “Planet of the Apes,” “Patton,” and “Papillon,” there was “The Mummy” (with Brendan Fraser), “The Haunting” (remake), and “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.”
Williams got “Superman.” Goldsmith got “Supergirl.” Williams got “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Goldsmith got “King Solomon’s Mines” (with Richard Chamberlain). Williams got “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.” Goldsmith got “Baby: The Secret of the Lost Legend.”
But even when the movies were terrible, Goldsmith’s music served as a consolation prize. And nothing can take away the classics. He was one of the last of the greats, and he lived through a great era, so we certainly have enough to cherish. He just had the bad fortune to have had more stamina than the movies themselves, which got weaker and weaker and weaker.
The composer himself expressed frustration at his music being drowned out by ever more-elaborate sound effects, which is why his scores tended to become more streamlined – and less memorable – in the ‘90s. He would have lost his mind in these days of laptop editing, when movies can be trimmed and shuffled within an inch of their lives, virtually right up until the day of distribution.
For television, he wrote music for “Dr. Kildare,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “The Waltons,” “Room 222,” and “Barnaby Jones.” He was the recipient of five Emmy Awards.
Incredibly, despite EIGHTEEN nominations, he was honored with but a single Oscar, for his influential score to “The Omen” (1976). Goldsmith died in 2004, at the age of 75. If he were to come back today, he would mop the joint with all the Hans Zimmers of this world.
Happy birthday, Jerry Goldsmith. I sure does miss you.
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The Man from U.N.C.L.E.:
The Blue Max
Planet of the Apes:
Patton:
Chinatown:
The Wind and the Lion:
The Omen:
The Great Train Robbery
Star Trek: The Motion Picture:
Goldsmith discusses film music, circa 1986
Documentary from 1993
Introducing and conducting his music with the National Philharmonic in 1989
Introducing and conducting his music, and others’, with the BBC Concert Orchestra in 1994
Part 1
Part 2
