Gerald Fried

Not to be confused with Gerald Ford.
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
Occupations
  • Composer
  • conductor
  • musician
InstrumentOboe
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[1]. 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

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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,[2] 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."[3][4] 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.[5] His credits consist of nearly 300 films, television episodes, and specials.

Personal life and death

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In December 1987, Fried lost his 5-year-old son, Zachary, due to AIDS from tainted blood supplied by a blood bank.[6] His screenplay and stage play Morningtime Train was based on the experience.[7] Zachary's childhood drawings were used on T-shirts in fundraisers for The Pediatric AIDS Foundation.[8] 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.[9]

Filmography

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    • The Missing Train (1959)
    • The Salted Mine (1959)
    • The Deadly Key (1960)
    • Donna Juanita (1960)
    • The Golden Tunnel (1960)
    • A Flower for Jenny (1960)
    • The Fabulous Fiddle (1960)
    • Crossed Guns (1960)
    • Sudden Death (1960)
    • Backtrack (1960)
    • Killer's Brand (1960)
    • A Flower on Boot Hill (1960)
    • Charcoal Bullet (1960)
    • Lost Gold (1960)
    • Ring of Death (1960)
    • The Smell of Money (1960)
    • The Spanish Box (1960)
    • The Blowup (1960)
    • The Wichita Arrows (1960)
    • Fort Epitaph (1960)
    • End of a Dream (1960)
    • That Taylor Affair (1960)
    • The Two Faces of Grey Holden (1960)
    • River Champion (1960)
    • No Bridge on the River (1960)
    • Trunk Full of Dreams (1960)
    • The Water of Gorgeous Springs (1960)
    • Devil in Skirts (1960)
    • The Quota (1960)
    • Chicota Landing (1960)
    • Zigzag (1960)
    • Listen to the Nightingale (1961)
    • So Sorry, My Island Now (1965)
    • X Marks the Spot (1965)
    • Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy (1965)
    • How to Be a Hero (1965)
    • Forget Me Not (1965)
    • Diogenes, Won't You Please Go Home? (1965)
    • Physical Fatness (1965)
    • It's Magic (1965)
    • A Nose by Any Other Name (1965)
    • Gilligan's Mother-in-Law (1965)
    • Beauty Is as Beauty Does (1965)
    • The Little Dictator (1965)
    • Feed the Kitty (1966)
    • Operation: Steam Heat (1966)
    • Will the Real Mr. Howell Please Stand Up? (1966)
    • Ghost-a-Go-Go (1966)
    • Allergy Time (1966)
    • V for Vitamins (1966)
    • Mr. and Mrs. ??? (1966)
    • Meet the Meteor (1966)
    • Up at Bat (1966)
    • Gilligan vs. Gilligan (1966)
    • Pass the Vegetables, Please (1966)
    • Voodoo (1966)
    • Where There's a Will (1966)
    • Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow (1966)
    • Ring Around Gilligan (1966)
    • Topsy-Turvy (1966)
    • The Invasion (1966)
    • The Kidnapper (1966)
    • And Then There Were None (1966)
    • All About Eva (1966)
    • Gilligan Goes Gung-Ho (1966)
    • Take a Dare (1967)
    • The Second Ginger Grant (1967)
    • The Secret of Gilligan's Island (1967)
    • The Pigeon (1967)
    • Bang! Bang! Bang! (1967)
    • Gilligan, the Goddess (1967)
    • Alexander the Greater Affair: Part One (1965)
    • Alexander the Greater Affair: Part Two (1965)
    • The Discotheque Affair (1965)
    • The Arabian Affair (1965)
    • The Deadly Toys Affair (1965)
    • The Cherry Blossom Affair (1965)
    • The Children's Day Affair (1965)
    • The Adriatic Express Affair (1965)
    • The Yukon Affair (1965)
    • The Very Important Zombie Affair (1965)
    • The Deadly Goddess Affair (1966)
    • The Bridge of Lions Affair: Part 1 (1966)
    • The Bridge of Lions Affair: Part II (1966)
    • The Foreign Legion Affair (1966)
    • The Moonglow Affair (1966)
    • The Project Deephole Affair (1966)
    • The Bat Cave Affair (1966)
    • The Indian Affairs Affair (1966)
    • The Her Master's Voice Affair (1966)
    • The Sort of Do-It-Yourself Dreadful Affair (1966)
    • The Super-Colossal Affair (1966)
    • The Monks of St. Thomas Affair (1966)
    • The Thor Affair (1966)
    • The Candidate's Wife Affair (1966)
    • The Off-Broadway Affair (1966)
    • The Come with Me to the Casbah Affair (1966)
    • The Abominable Snowman Affair (1966)
    • The My Friend the Gorilla Affair (1966)
    • The Jingle Bells Affair (1966)
    • The Take Me to Your Leader Affair (1966)
    • The Suburbia Affair (1967)
    • The Deadly Smorgasbord Affair (1967)
    • The Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum Affair (1967)
    • The Napoleon's Tomb Affair (1967)
    • The It's All Greek to Me Affair (1967)
    • The Hula Doll Affair (1967)
    • The Pieces of Fate Affair (1967)
    • The Matterhorn Affair (1967)
    • The Hot Number Affair (1967)
    • The When in Roma Affair (1967)
    • The Apple a Day Affair (1967)
    • The Five Daughters Affair: Part I (1967)
    • The Five Daughters Affair: Part II (1967)
    • The Cap and Gown Affair (1967)
    • The Test Tube Killer Affair (1967)
    • All That Lia Ever Wanted (1966)
    • Escape (1966)
    • Death in Vienna (1966)
    • A Little Ignorance (1966)
    • Target: Eva (1966)
    • Big Fish (1966)
    • Pay Now, Pray Later (1966)
    • Game of Death (1966)
    • If This Be Treason (1966)
    • To Kill an Albatross (1966)
    • Things Dead and Done (1966)
    • The Perfect Crime (1966)
    • In Memory of Davos (1966)
    • Drop by Drop (1966)
    • And Then I Wrote Happy Birthday to You (1966)
    • The Copper Caper (1966)
    • The Initiation (1966)
    • Tailor Made Hero (1966)
    • The Rainmakers (1966)
    • He Caveman — You Woman (1966)
    • The Champ (1966)
    • Mark Your Ballots (1966)
    • Have I Got a Girl for You (1966)
    • Cave Movies (1966)
    • Androcles and Clon (1966)
    • Love Me, Love My Gnook (1966)
    • The Broken Idol (1966)
    • The Sacrifice (1966)
    • King Hec (1966)
    • The Mother-in-Law (1966)
    • Which Doctor's Witch? (1967)
    • To Catch a Thief (1967)
    • 20th Century Here We Come (1967)
    • To Sign or Not to Sign (1967)
    • Our Brothers' Keepers (1967)
    • The Stowaway (1967)

Other music credits

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[11]

Awards

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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)

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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.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Star Trek Composer Gerald Fried Dies at 95". www.dailystartreknews.com. 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  2. ^ Notable Alumni, Alumni & Friends of LaGuardia High School. Accessed Nov. 8, 2016.
  3. ^ 'Star Trek' boldly going symphonic[usurped], Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-08-23
  4. ^ Music makes movies memorable[usurped], Canadian Online Explorer, June 11, 2000. Retrieved 2010-08-23
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ David Freed "Oak School Pays Homage to Young AIDS Victim", Los Angeles Times, November 15, 1988
  7. ^ Gerald Fried Interview on YouTube
  8. ^ "90's Family : The Gifts That Give Twice", Los Angeles Times, 22 November 1995
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ To the Moon and Beyond
  11. ^ . Box 24, Gerald Fried papers, Collection #2883, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
  12. ^ "Chronology of Wakeup Calls". NASA. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
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