Los Angeles, 1929–2004
Jerry Goldsmith
The most versatile of his generation: Chinatown, Alien, Star Trek. He won his Oscar for The Omen.
He studied with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and attended Miklós Rózsa's classes. He joined CBS in 1950 as a clerk typist in the music department and began writing there for radio and live television. Few experimented as he did: unusual percussion in Planet of the Apes, Latin choirs in The Omen.
- Style
- Irregular rhythms, unusual timbres and a different musical idea for every film.
- Awards
- 18 Oscar nominations and one win, for The Omen.
Essential films
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- Patton (1970)
- Chinatown (1974)
- The Omen (1976)
- Alien (1979)
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
- Basic Instinct (1992)
- L.A. Confidential (1997)
Listen
- Chinatown Love Theme · ChinatownSpotifyYouTube
- Star Trek The Motion Picture Main Title · Star TrekSpotifyYouTube
- Ave Satani · The OmenSpotifyYouTube
Everything on Spotify Everything on YouTube Full biography on Wikipedia
Awards counted up to the 2026 Academy Awards. Facts reviewed in October 2026.