Brad Ira Fiedel (born March 10, 1951) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

of scores for film and television. He is well known for his collaborations with director

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post- New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability ...

on ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor ( Linda Hamilton), wh ...

'' (1984) and its blockbuster sequel, '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), as well as the action-comedy ''

True Lies ''True Lies'' is a 1994 American spy action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. I ...

'' (1994). On these scores he mostly used synthesizers, but composed a number of scores utilizing various acoustic instruments, including full orchestra. Fiedel's work includes other films in the genres of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and horror, such as ''

Fright Night ''Fright Night'' is a 1985 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland (in his directorial debut) and produced by Herb Jaffe. It stars Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Amanda Bearse, Jonathan Stark, D ...

'' (1985) and sequel ''

Fright Night Part 2 ''Fright Night Part 2'' is a 1988 American horror film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and starring William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Traci Lind, and Julie Carmen. It is the sequel to the 1985 film ''Fright Night'', with Ragsdale and McDowall rep ...

'' (1988), ''The Serpent and the Rainbow'' (1988) and ''

Johnny Mnemonic "Johnny Mnemonic" is a science fiction short story by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. It first appeared in '' Omni'' magazine in May 1981, and was subsequently included in ''Burning Chrome'', a 1986 collection of Gibson's short fiction. ...

'' (1995). He also scored a number of comedy films, such as ''

Compromising Positions ''Compromising Positions'' is a 1985 American film released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Frank Perry. The screenplay, by Susan Isaacs, was adapted from her 1978 novel. The plot concerns a Long Island housewife and former journalist who ...

'' (1985) and '' Fraternity Vacation'' (1985), as well as drama films including ''

The Accused Accused or The Accused may refer to: * A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge ** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime * The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band *''The Accused'', a ...

'' (1988), '' Blue Steel'' (1990) and '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' (1996). He retired from scoring films in the late 1990s and now focuses primarily on creating original musicals.

Biography

Raised in

Bayville, New York Bayville (sometimes also referred to as Pine Island) is a village located in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 6,669 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Vi ...

on Long Island, Fiedel graduated from The Barlow School. After college, he became a popular and progressive composer. In the 1980s, he worked on several successful movies, predominantly in the action and thriller genres, and pioneered the use of electronic instruments and

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

in soundtracks. However, he almost disappeared from the mainstream at the end of the 1990s. In the early 70's Fiedel was signed as a songwriter to Paul Simon's DeShufflin' Music. In the mid 70's he spent six months as the keyboardist for

Hall and Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two w ...

. He began his career in film in the mid 1970s, and wrote extensively for

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s including Playing for Time written by Arthur Miller starring Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Alexander, and some independent cinema releases, until director

hired him to score the

film ''

'' in 1984, setting the wheels in motion for a successful career. Since then, Fiedel has scored many popular and successful movies, including ''

'' (1985) and its sequel ''

'' (1988), '' The Big Easy'' (1987), '' The Serpent and the Rainbow'' (1988), ''

'' (1988), '' Blue Steel'' (1990), '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), ''

Blink Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral portio ...

'' (1994), and ''

'' (1994). He also composed the Lightstorm Entertainment logo jingle. In recent years, Fiedel moved on to other creative areas, writing original musicals, and designing and building a surf resort in La Saladita, Mexico. His last major theatrical score was in 1995, and although he enjoyed a brief period of renewed interest following the release of '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' in 2003, when

Marco Beltrami Marco Beltrami (born October 7, 1966) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has worked in a number of genres, including horror ('' Scream'', '' Mimic, The Faculty, Resident Evil, The Woman in Black, A Quiet P ...

wrote an orchestral arrangement of his theme, he shows no sign of returning to the film music field. He recently released an audio version of his original musical Full Circle.

Family

Fiedel has been married to actress Ann Dusenberry since 1975; the couple have two daughters named Alixandra and Zoe; they live in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning " Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West ...

Filmography

* ''Apple Pie'' (1975) * '' Deadly Hero'' (1975) * ''Damien’s Island'' (1976) * ''Looking Up'' (1977) * '' Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure'' (1979, TV movie) * '' Hardhat and Legs'' (1979) * ''The Day the Women Got Even'' (1980, TV movie) * '' Playing for Time'' (1980, TV movie) * ''Dream House'' (1981, TV movie) * '' The Bunker'' (1981, CBS TV movie) * ''

Night School A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The Scuola ...

'' (1981) * '' Just Before Dawn'' (1981) * ''

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

'' (1982, TV movie) * ''Dreams Don’t Die'' (1982, TV movie) * ''Born Beautiful'' (1982, TV movie) * ''

Murder in Coweta County Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

'' (1983, TV movie) * '' Cocaine: One Man's Seduction'' (1983, TV movie) * '' Eyes of Fire'' (1983) * ''

Right of Way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

'' (1983, TV movie) * '' Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number'' (1983, TV movie) * ''Girls of the White Orchid'' (1983, TV movie) * ''Heart of Steel'' (1983, TV movie) * ''When She Says No'' (1984, TV movie) * ''Anatomy Of An Illness'' (1984, TV movie) * ''The Baron and the Kid'' (1984, TV movie) * ''Children in the Crossfire'' (1984, TV movie) * '' The Three Wishes of Billy Grier'' (1984, TV movie) * '' Calendar Girl Murders'' (1984, TV movie) * ''

'' (1984) * '' Fraternity Vacation'' (1985) * ''

'' (1985) * ''

The Midnight Hour ''The Midnight Hour'' is a 1985 American made-for-television comedy horror film directed by Jack Bender and starring Shari Belafonte-Harper, LeVar Burton, Peter DeLuise, and Dedee Pfeiffer. Its plot focuses on a small New England town that ...

'' (1985) * ''Deadly Messages'' (1985, TV movie) * ''Into Thin Air'' (1985, TV movie) * ''

Popeye Doyle Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Desert Bloom A desert bloom is a climatic phenomenon that occurs in various deserts around the world. The phenomenon consists of the blossoming of a wide variety of flowers during early-mid spring in years when rainfall is unusually high. The blossoming occu ...

'' (1986) * '' Let's Get Harry'' (1986) * '' The Big Easy'' (1986) * ''Under Siege'' (1986, TV movie) * ''The Brotherhood of Justice'' (1986, TV movie) * ''

Second Serve ''Second Serve'' is a 1986 American made-for-television biographical film starring Vanessa Redgrave as retired eye surgeon, professional tennis player, and transgender woman Renée Richards. The film is based on her 1983 autobiography ''Second S ...

'' (1986, TV movie) * ''

Of Pure Blood ''Of Pure Blood'' is a 1986 made-for-TV thriller for CBS that premiered on October 19, 1986, directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Lee Remick. Alicia Browning (Remick) is a casting director in New York City whose grown son is shot to death ...

'' (1986, TV movie) * '' Nowhere to Hide'' (1987) * '' Weekend War'' (1987, TV movie) * ''

The Last Innocent Man ''The Last Innocent Man'' is a 1987 American television film, made-for-television thriller film directed by Roger Spottiswoode that aired on Home Box Office, HBO. The screenplay, teleplay by Dan Bronson is based on the novel by Phillip M. Margolin. ...

'' (1987, TV movie) * ''Bluffing It'' (1987, TV movie) * ''

Right to Die The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood that a person with a terminal illness, incurable pain, or without ...

'' (1987, TV movie) * '' The Serpent and the Rainbow'' (1988) * ''

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1988) * ''Hostage'' (1988, TV movie) * ''Hot Paint'' (1988, TV movie) * ''Bluffing It'' (1988, TV movie) * '' Perfect Witness'' (1989, TV movie) * '' True Believer'' (1989) * '' Immediate Family'' (1989) * ''Cold Sassy Tree'' (1989, TV movie) * '' Blue Steel'' (1990) * ''Night Visions'' (1990, TV movie) * ''Forgotten Prisoners: The Amnesty Files'' (1990, TV movie) * ''Plymouth'' (1991) * '' Blood Ties'' (1991, TV movie) * '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991) * '' Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story'' (1992) * ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'' (1992) * ''

Straight Talk ''Straight Talk'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Barnet Kellman and starring Dolly Parton, Jerry Orbach, Griffin Dunne and James Woods. Plot Shirlee Kenyon is a dance instructor living in Arkansas. Fired for giving advi ...

'' (1992) * ''

The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies. History The phr ...

'' (1993) * ''

Striking Distance ''Striking Distance'' is a 1993 American action thriller film starring Bruce Willis as Pittsburgh Police homicide detective Thomas Hardy. The film co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, and Tom Sizemore. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington ...

'' (1993) * ''

'' (1994) * ''

'' (1995) * ''Eden'' (1996) * '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' (1996) * ''

Mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

'' (1996, TV movie) * ''Eden'' (1999) * '' Y2K'' (1999)

References

External links

* *
Movie Music UK biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiedel, Brad 1951 births American film score composers American television composers Hall & Oates members Living people American male film score composers Male television composers Musicians from New York City People from Bayville, New York Varèse Sarabande Records artists