William Leon Goldenberg (February 10, 1936 – August 3, 2020) 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 ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, best known for his work on television and film.

Early life

Goldenberg was born on February 10, 1936 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, New York. His mother played the violin, and she taught him how to play the violin and the viola. Then he played it in chamber and symphonic groups. His father was a staff percussionist at WOR and the NBC Symphonic Orchestra. At age five, he played piano and sang Broadway shows. He wanted a musical career but since his father was laid off, he was dissuaded in the early 1950s. Instead of attending

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

, he studied physics and mathematics at Columbia College.

Career

After college, Goldenberg was a computer programmer, but he quit the job due to an

ulcer An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughin ...

. He found work as a pianist and arranger. He was hired to write the soundtrack for comedy sketches of

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

and Elaine May in the Broadway show, ''An Evening with Nichols and May''. In the mid-1960s, Goldenberg met

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

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 ...

. He started to compose music for Spielberg's television episodes on shows such as '' The Name Of The Game'', ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...

'' and the 1971 TV film, ''

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

''. His other film scores included the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

film '' Change of Habit'' (1969), '' The Grasshopper'' (1970), '' Red Sky at Morning'' (1971), ''

The Last of Sheila ''The Last of Sheila'' is a 1973 American whodunnit mystery film directed and produced by Herbert Ross and written by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim. It starred Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, Joan Hackett, James Mason, Ian Mc ...

'' (1973), '' Busting'' (1974), '' The Domino Principle'' (1977) and '' Reuben, Reuben'' (1983). He also wrote music for '' Rhoda'' including its theme song, ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'', and the first two episodes of ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'', including the theme tune. Additionally he wrote scores for

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's '' Play It Again, Sam'' (1972) and '' Up the Sandbox'' (1972). Later on, he was praised for all his works and his score for the ''Sandbox'' movie was considered 'the real pulse of the movie' and also if the score could be turned into a song. He wrote the song "If I Close My Eyes" for the ''Sandbox'' movie and then won an Emmy Award for the score of '' Queen of the Stardust Ballroom'' (1975). He earned 3 Emmy Awards for '' The Lives of Benjamin Franklin'' (1974), ''

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

'' and ''Rage of Angels.'' He also scored many TV movies, such as '' Fear No Evil'' (1969), '' Ritual of Evil'' (1970), '' Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'' (1973), ''

Double Indemnity ''Double Indemnity'' is a 1944 American film noir directed by Billy Wilder and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. Wilder and Raymond Chandler adapted the screenplay from James M. Cain's Double Indemnity (novel), novel of the same na ...

'' (1973), '' The UFO Incident'' (1975), '' Helter Skelter'' (1976), '' One of My Wives Is Missing'' (1976), '' The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case'' (1976), '' Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night'' (1977), '' The Cracker Factory'' (1979), '' Crisis at Central High'' (1981), '' This House Possessed'' (1981), '' The Best Little Girl in the World'' (1981) and '' Massarati and the Brain'' (1982), and TV miniseries including '' The Gangster Chronicles'' (1981), ''

Rage of Angels ''Rage of Angels'' is a novel by Sidney Sheldon published in 1980. The novel revolves around young attorney Jennifer Parker; as she rises as a successful lawyer, she gets into a series of ongoings that lead to intrigue with the mob and a rival ...

'' (1983), '' The Atlanta Child Murders'' (1985), '' Kane and Abel'' (1985) and '' Around the World in 80 Days'' (1989).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldenberg, Billy 1936 births 2020 deaths American television composers Musicians from Brooklyn American film score composers American male film score composers 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers Broadway composers and lyricists Primetime Emmy Award winners American male songwriters 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Columbia College (New York) alumni