Award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith started in radio, progressed to scoring TV shows (notably "Gunsmoke" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E") and finally became arguably the most prolific quality film composer of all time. Despite a rigorous eclecticism established early in his career, ranging from the atonal ("Freud" 1962) to occasional jazz ("Our Man Flint" 1965), his style is immediately recognizable for its tight, relatively lean, percussive-rhythmic sound, chock-full of inventive energy and succulent melody, beautifully orchestrated. Goldsmith first worked with director Franklin J Schaffner on "The Stripper" (1963), and the two did six more films together, including "Planet of the Apes" (1968), 1970's Oscar-winning Best Picture "Patton", "Papillon" (1973) and "Islands in the Stream" (1976).

Goldsmith received his first Academy Award nomination for "Freud", and an unbroken string of nods from 1973-76 culminated in his lone win for Richard Donner's "The Omen". His other nominated scores include "A Patch of Blue" (1965), "The Sand Pebbles" (1966), "Chinatown" (1974), "Hoosiers" (1986) and "Basic Instinct" (1992). He has had far better luck bringing home the prize for his TV work, having won five Emmy Awards, most recently for the main title theme music for the syndicated series "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995- ). Goldsmith's association with the sci-fi series began with "Star Trek: The Movie" (1979) and also includes the features "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) and "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996) as well as providing music for the syndicated series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-94).

Goldsmith's most frequent collaborator in recent years has been Joe Dante, who, in addition to directing eight films with Goldsmith scores, gave the composer his first acting role in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" (1990, as a yogurt customer). The composer first worked with director Curtis Hanson on "The River Wild" (1994), reteaming with him for the enormously successful "L.A. Confidential" (1997). Goldsmith has scored over 150 films and, at the rate he works, will undoubtedly reach the 200 milestone. Stephen Hopkins' "Lost in Space" and Stuart Baird's "U.S. Marshals" (the sequel to 1993's blockbuster "The Fugitive") are among the 1998 releases with a Goldsmith score.