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 Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

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 and film director. He is considered a member of the New Hollywood generation of filmmakers. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s for writing the scripts for ''The L ...

and

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch filmmaker, who has worked variously in the Netherlands, the United States, and in France. He is known for directing genre films with strong satirical elements, often featuring graphic violence and ...

. 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 created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

'' (1982), '' Red Dawn'' (1984), ''

Iron Eagle ''Iron Eagle'' is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Alyn Elders, and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett Jr.Mann, Roderick"Sidney Furie leads the cheer for 'Iron Eagle'." ''Los Angeles ...

'' (1986), ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...

'' (1987), '' The Hunt for Red October'' (1990), ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American Adventure film, adventure Drama (film and television), 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 ...

'' (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 ...

'' (1997) and ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (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.

Life and career

Born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, to Greek immigrant parents from

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (''nomos' ...

, he credited two influences with guiding him towards music: the first was composer

Miklós Rózsa Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...

; the second his own

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

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 The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

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 John Randal Kleiser (born July 20, 1946) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the films ''Grease (film), Grease'' (1978), ''The Blue Lagoon (1980 film), The Blue Lagoon'' (1 ...

, 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 ...

'' (1984); '' Red Dawn'' (1984; dir: Milius), ''

'' (1986); ''

'' (1987; dir: Verhoeven); '' The Hunt for Red October'' (1990); '' Quigley Down Under'' (1990

Simon Wincer Simon Wincer (born 1943) is an Australian film and television director best known for the miniseries ''Lonesome Dove (miniseries), Lonesome Dove'' and the film ''Free Willy''. He attended Cranbrook School, Sydney, Cranbrook School, Sydney, from ...

); ''

'' (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 ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, 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 state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. He died on November 8, 2006, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, aged 61, from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. 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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

(''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 bel ...

(''Conan the Barbarian'') *Winner Special Recognition Music Award –

BMI Film & TV Awards 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 main pop music award was founded in 1952. The awards incl ...

(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 (Opening Ceremony) * Conan Sword & Sorcery Spectacular (

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

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

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. 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, ...

and

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...

) * '' Flyers'' (

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

, 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 conductors (music) 20th-century 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 American 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