Gerald Fried was an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring “Roots” and composing Star Trek’s iconic fight-scene music.
- Died: February 17, 2023 (Who else died on February 17?)
- Details of death: Died at 95 of pneumonia in Bridgeport, Connecticut
- We invite you to share condolences for Gerald Fried in our Guest Book.
Early 50’s Movie Career
Born on February 13, 1928, Gerald Fried was raised in the Bronx, where he attended New York’s famed High School of Music & Art. After graduating from the Juilliard School of Music, Fried began his composing career collaborating with childhood friend Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999). After scoring Kubrick’s first short, 1951s “Day of the Fight,” Fried composed scores for Kubrick’s first four features: “Fear and Desire,” “Killer’s Kiss,” “The Killing,” and “Paths of Glory.” He then went on to compose the soundtracks for some of the decade’s most beloved classics, including Paul Landres’ “The Vampire” and “The Return of Dracula,” Roger Corman’s “Machine Gun Kelly,” and actor Jack Nicholson’s 1958 debut film, “The Cry Baby Killer.”
Turn to Television
After moving to Los Angeles in the late 50’s, Fried quickly became a prolific television composer, scoring for more than 40 regular series and three dozen TV-movies and miniseries over his six-decade career. Small-screen high notes include “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “Mission: Impossible,” and a much-sampled fight music sequence from Star Trek’s “Amok Time” episode:
Fried’s Star Trek fame would follow him across his career in ways that surprised the composer. “I started to get royalty checks from ‘The Simpsons,’” Fried noted in a 2003 interview. “I didn’t write any music for ‘The Simpsons.’ What they did was when Bart Simpson would get angry and cross the living room or something like that, they quoted the music for ‘Amok Time.’”
The longtime oboeist even wove his Star Trek compositions into a concerto, performed here with pianist Rich Ruttenberg in 2012:
Emmy-winning Roots
In 1976, Fried was tapped to replace a struggling Quincy Jones as the composer for the groundbreaking TV miniseries “Roots.” In addition to show’s main theme, Fried scored the final ten hours of the series, supplementing Jones’ initial work. An Emmy was presented to both composers in 1977. Fried would receive six total Emmy nominations, an Oscar nomination, and a lifetime achievement award from the International Sound and Film Music Festival.
Notable Quote
“There were two shows that I did in television that had reverberations far beyond what you’d expect from the venue and the possibilities. One was Star Trek, and the other was Roots. There was an atmosphere, doing both shows, that these were a little special and certainly more important than most shows.” Quoted on StarTrek.com.
Tributes to Gerald Fried
Full obituary: Variety
