Gerald Fried
Born(1928-02-13)February 13, 1928
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 17, 2023(2023-02-17) (aged 95)
Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
GenresFilm score, contemporary classical
Occupation(s)
  • Composer
  • conductor
  • musician
Instrument(s)Oboe
Years active1951–2023

Gerald Fried (February 13, 1928 – February 17, 2023) was an American composer, conductor, and oboist known for his film and television scores. He composed music for well-known television series of the 1960s and 1970s, including Mission: Impossible, Gilligan's Island, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Shotgun Slade, Roots, and Star Trek. Early in his career, he collaborated with Stanley Kubrick, scoring several of his earliest films.

Fried was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, winning once in 1977 for Roots, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the documentary Birds Do It, Bees Do It (1974).

Life and career

Born and raised in The Bronx, New York City, Fried attended The Juilliard School of Music. He attended High School of Music & Art, graduating in 1945,[1] and entered the world of film soundtracks when he composed the scores for five of Stanley Kubrick's earliest films.

After moving to Los Angeles he began composing and arranging music for several films such as Terror in a Texas Town and television shows such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., working with Robert Drasnin, and also the original Star Trek, for which he composed the famous musical underscore "The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah" (now known as "Star Trek fight music") for the episode "Amok Time."[2][3] Among his television show themes is his jazz-inspired intro for the western series Shotgun Slade.

Fried was known for his collaboration with Quincy Jones on their Emmy Award-winning score for the 1977 miniseries Roots. Fried also arranged the exotica album Orienta. He won Golden Pine Award (Lifetime Achievement) at the 2013 International Samobor Film Music Festival, along with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Clint Eastwood.[4] His credits consist of nearly 300 films, television episodes, and specials.

Personal life and death

In December 1987, Fried lost his 5-year-old son, Zachary, due to AIDS from tainted blood supplied by a blood bank.[5] His screenplay and stage play Morningtime Train was based on the experience.[6] Zachary's childhood drawings were used on T-shirts in fundraisers for The Pediatric AIDS Foundation.[7] Fried had four other children, with his first wife Judith Fried: Daniel, Deborah, Jonathan, and Joshua were all born in the 1950s.

Fried died of pneumonia in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on February 17, 2023, four days after his 95th birthday.[8]

Filmography

Other music credits

[10]

Awards

Year Award Category
1976 Nominated — (Oscar) Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
"Birds Do It, Bees Do It" (1974)
1977 Nominated — (Primetime Emmy) Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
"Roots" (Part VIII) (1977)
1977 Won — (Primetime Emmy) Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
"Roots" (Part I) (1977)
(shared with Quincy Jones)
1980 Nominated — (Primetime Emmy) Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)
"The Silent Lovers" (1980)
1984 Nominated — (Primetime Emmy) Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)
"The Mystic Warrior" (Part I) (1984)
1988 Nominated — (Primetime Emmy) Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)
"Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story" (1987) (Part III)

"The Ritual" (music from Star Trek, TOS)

Fried's underscore "The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah", from the Star Trek episode "Amok Time" (1967) was featured in the 1996 movie The Cable Guy, starring Jim Carrey. It was also featured in two Futurama episodes, "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" (2000), as an alien anthem, in a Star Trek vs. Futurama fight scene "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" (2002), and in the dream sequence at the beginning of "Spock Amok", the fifth episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022). It has also appeared in an episode of The Simpsons "Deep Space Homer" (1994). The score was also specifically chosen in the STS-133 Space Shuttle Discovery mission on March 4, 2011, as the morning wake-up music for the crew on Day 9 of the mission.[11]

References

  1. ^ Notable Alumni, Alumni & Friends of LaGuardia High School. Accessed Nov. 8, 2016.
  2. ^ 'Star Trek' boldly going symphonic, Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-08-23
  3. ^ Music makes movies memorable, Canadian Online Explorer, June 11, 2000. Retrieved 2010-08-23
  4. ^ "Clint Eastwood, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Gerald Fried to Receive Golden Pine Awards for Lifetime Achievement". ISFMF. Archived from the original on 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  5. ^ David Freed "Oak School Pays Homage to Young AIDS Victim", Los Angeles Times, November 15, 1988
  6. ^ Gerald Fried Interview on YouTube
  7. ^ "90's Family : The Gifts That Give Twice", Los Angeles Times, 22 November 1995
  8. ^ Burlingame, Jon (18 February 2023). "Gerald Fried, Emmy Winner for 'Roots' and Composer for 'Star Trek,' 'Gilligan's Island,' Dies at 95". Variety. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  9. ^ To the Moon and Beyond
  10. ^ . Box 24, Gerald Fried papers, Collection #2883, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
  11. ^ "Chronology of Wakeup Calls". NASA. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

External links

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
Authority control databases
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