Basil Konstantine Poledouris (; August 21, 1945 – November 8, 2006) was 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 ...

, conductor, and orchestrator of film and television scores, best known for his long-running collaborations with directors

John Milius John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He was a writer for the first two '' Dirty Harry'' films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of '' Apocalypse Now'' (1979), ...

and

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

. Among his works are scores for the films ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''), ...

'' (1982), '' Red Dawn'' (1984), '' Iron Eagle'' (1986), ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Fer ...

'' (1987), ''

The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cut ...

'' (1990), ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Picture ...

'' (1993), ''

Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...

'' (1997) and '' Les Miserables'' (1998). Poledouris won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special for his work on the four-part miniseries '' Lonesome Dove'' in 1989, and was a four-time recipient of the

BMI Film Music Award The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the awards include the BMI Christian Awards, BMI Country Awards ...

Life and career

Born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

, to Greek immigrant parents from Messenia, he credited two influences with guiding him towards music: the first was composer Miklós Rózsa; the second his own

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

heritage. Poledouris was raised in the Church, and he used to sit in services enthralled by the choir's sound. At the age of seven, Poledouris began piano lessons, and after graduation from Garden Grove High School, he enrolled at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

to study both filmmaking and music. Several short films to which he contributed are still kept in the university's archives. At USC, Poledouris met movie directors

and Randal Kleiser, with whom he would later collaborate as a music composer. He appeared as a background extra in several episodes of '' Star Trek: The Original Series''. In 1985, Poledouris wrote the music for

's '' Flesh & Blood'', establishing a durable collaboration. Poledouris became renowned for his powerfully epic style of orchestral composition and his intricate thematic designs. He scored the soundtrack for '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1980; dir: Kleiser); ''

'' (1982; dir: Milius); ''

Conan the Destroyer ''Conan the Destroyer'' is a 1984 American epic sword and sorcery film directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Stanley Mann and a story by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. Based on the character Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. ...

'' (1984); '' Red Dawn'' (1984; dir: Milius), '' Iron Eagle'' (1986); ''

'' (1987; dir: Verhoeven); ''

'' (1990); '' Quigley Down Under'' (1990 Simon Wincer); ''

'' (1993) and its first sequel '' Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'' (1995); ''Starship Troopers'' (1997; dir: Verhoeven); and ''For Love of the Game'' (1999). Poledouris' studio, "Blowtorch Flats", was located in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, California, and was a professional mixing facility specializing in film and media production. Poledouris married his wife Bobbie in 1969; they had two daughters, Zoë and Alexis. His elder daughter, Zoë Poledouris, is an actress and film composer, who occasionally collaborated with her father in composing film soundtracks. In 1996, Poledouris composed "The Tradition of the Games" for the Atlanta Olympics opening ceremony that accompanied the memorable dance tribute to the athletes and goddesses of victory of the ancient Greek Olympics using silhouette imagery. Poledouris spent the last four years of his life residing on Vashon Island, in

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

. He died on November 8, 2006, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, aged 61, from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

. Basil Poledouris 1945 – 2006
" ''Basil Poledouris Message Board,'' 8 November 2006.

Awards and nominations

*Winner Best Score for Miniseries –

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

(''Lonesome Dove'') *Nominee Best Score –

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

(''Conan the Barbarian'') *Winner Special Recognition Music Award – BMI Film & TV Awards (Olympic Tribute for "The Tradition of the Games") *Winner Film Music Award – BMI Awards (''Free Willy'') *Winner Film Music Award – BMI Awards (''The Hunt for Red October'') *Winner TV Music Award – BMI Awards (''Lonesome Dove'') *Winner Film Music Award – BMI Awards (''RoboCop'')

Filmography

Films

Television

Other works

1996 Atlanta Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta ...

(Opening Ceremony) * Conan Sword & Sorcery Spectacular (

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

' live stage show) * ''American Journeys'' (A Circle-Vision 360° film at

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

and

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

) * ''

Flyers Flyer or flier may refer to: *An aviator, a person who flies an aircraft *Flyer (pamphlet), a single-page leaflet Music * ''Flyer'' (album), by Nanci Griffith * Flyer (band), a Croatian pop band Sports *Flyer, a position in cheerleading stunt ...

'' (

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme ...

, 1982) * ''Behold Hawaii'' (

, 1983)

References

External links

* *
Basil Poledouris interview
a
UnderScores : Musique de Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poledouris, Basil 1945 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century classical composers American classical composers American film score composers American male classical composers American male conductors (music) American people of Greek descent American television composers California State University, Long Beach alumni Deaths from lung cancer in California Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States American male film score composers Male television composers Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Musicians from Los Angeles USC Thornton School of Music alumni Varèse Sarabande Records artists 20th-century American male musicians