Joel King Goldsmith (November 19, 1957 – April 29, 2012) 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 ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

Biography

Joel Goldsmith was born on November 19, 1957, 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 ...

, the third of four children of Sharon (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hennagin), a singer, and renowned composer

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franc ...

. He was of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. Goldsmith's maternal uncle was composer and professor

Michael Hennagin Michael Hennagin (17 September 1936 – 4 June 1993) was an American composer and university professor. Life and career Hennagin was born in The Dalles, Oregon. He studied composition at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and at summe ...

. He was the main composer for the TV series ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...

'', although the main titles were written by David Arnold (who composed the score to ''

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen ...

'', the film that began the ''

'' franchise). For ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Coop ...

'', Goldsmith composed the main titles and the score. He also composed the main title theme and score for the second season of the CBS series

Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...

. During his career, he usually collaborated with two composers; his father

, and

Neal Acree Neal Acree (born July 11, 1974) is an American composer of film, television, and video game music. He has scored 30 feature films, contributed music to the popular ''Blizzard Entertainment'' video game franchises ''StarCraft II'', ''World of W ...

. He made his first move into video games music in 2006, scoring ''

Call of Duty 3 ''Call of Duty 3'' is a 2006 first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the third major installment in the ''Call of Duty'' series. It was released for PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 an ...

''. During his final years, Goldsmith relocated to Hidden Hills, California, where he built a home studio in his back yard. Goldsmith died of cancer on April 29, 2012, aged 54, at his home in Hidden Hills, California. His interment was at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery.

Emmy Award nominations

*Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – ''

'' (1998) *

Outstanding Main Title Theme Music This is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the award was presented with the "possibility of one, more than one, or no award given, ...

– ''

'' (2005) *Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) – ''Stargate Atlantis'' (2006)

Credits

References

External links

FreeClyde – The Official Website of Joel Goldsmith
* *
Joel Goldsmith Memorial on Destinies-The Voice of Science Fiction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith, Joel 1957 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews American film score composers American male film score composers American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American television composers Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Deaths from cancer in California Jewish American film score composers Jewish American television composers Male television composers Musicians from Los Angeles Video game composers