I am very sorry to learn that Gerald Fried has died.
Fried was the composer of nearly 300 film and television scores.
A schoolmate of Stanley Kubrick, he provided the music for the director’s earliest projects (up until “Spartacus”). The best known of these are “The Killing,” with Sterling Hayden, and “Paths of Glory,” with Kirk Douglas.
His fruitful collaborations with producer David L. Wolper yielded “Birds Do It, Bees Do It,” which earned Fried an Academy Award nomination, and the landmark miniseries “Roots,” which won him an Emmy.
He composed original music for five episodes of “Star Trek, in its original series incarnation, including those for fan favorites “Shore Leave” and “Amok Time” (source of the much-parodied “Star Trek fight music”). Selections from these scores were recycled in subsequent installments of the series.
He also contributed to “Riverboat,” “Shotgun Slade,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “Mission: Impossible,” and many others.
Between 1948 to 1956, Fried was principal oboist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the New York Little Orchestra.
His final film project was the science fiction parody “Unbelievable!!!!” in 2020. In his later years, he also wrote screenplays.
In 2021, we were very lucky to have him as a guest on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Roy characterizes his appearance as a very special interview. I concur. He impressed me as a kind and generous man.
At the time of his death, Fried was 95-years-old. R.I.P.
Fried performs music from three of his classic “Star Trek” scores – including the iconic fight music from “Amok Time”:
Finnegan
Ruth
Spock vs. Kirk
“Paths of Glory”
“Birds Do It, Bees Do It”
Fried and family perform music from “Roots”
Gerald Fried conversing with us on “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner”