Pity poor Alexander Courage. Well, not that poor - he's been a prolific and successful composer of film and television music for almost half a century, but despite composing and arranging nearly eighty films and shows, and two Academy Award nominations, he is condemned forever to be remembered for one piece of music - and a voice-over which was nothing to do with him.
Space, the final frontier...
Born on 10 December, 1919, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, he studied at Rochester, where there is a collection of film and television scores named in his honour.
He is equally at home composing alone, collaborating with others, or arranging and orchestrating - he has a long partnership with Jerry Goldsmith. He was nominated alongside Lionel Newman for Oscars in 1965 (The Pleasure Seekers) and 1967 (Doctor Dolittle).
All of which pales into insignificance by comparison with the huge popularity of his theme for Star Trek - the music by which generations of science-fiction fans and Trekkers have been thrilled.
It says something for this music that even when the special effects seem dated, the moving walls on the sets look ridiculous, and the preponderance of monsters with two arms, two legs and one head looks, frankly, cheap, the music remains as fresh as it ever was.
List of Works
As composer:
- Shake, Rattle and Rock (1956)
- Hot Rod Girl (1956)
- Undersea Girl (1957)
- Hot Rod Rumble (1957)
- Sierra Stranger (1957)
- Handle with Care (1958)
- The Left Handed Gun (1958)
- Day of the Outlaw (1959)
- National Velvet (1960) (TV Series)
- Follow the Boys (1963)
- Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964) TV Series (episode)
- The Pleasure Seekers (1964)
- Daniel Boone (1964) (TV series)
- The Loner (1965) (TV series)
- Lost in Space (1965) (TV series)
- Star Trek (1966) (TV series) (also theme1)
- Doctor Dolittle (1967)
- Judd, for the Defence (1967) (TV series)
- Medical Center (1969) (TV series)
- The Waltons (1972) (TV series)
- Apple's Way (1974) (TV series)
- Falcon Crest (1981) (TV series)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
As Arranger, Orchestrator or Conductor:
Many of these works were with Jerry Goldsmith (credits are as orchestrator unless otherwise stated).
- Show Boat (1951) (additional orchestrator)
- The Belle of New York (1952) (uncredited orchestrator)
- Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
- The Band Wagon (1953)
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
- Deep in My Heart (1954)
- Guys and Dolls (1955)
- Kismet (1955) (music arranger, orchestral music)
- Hot Rod Rumble (1957) (musical director)
- Funny Face (1957)
- Undersea Girl (1957) (conductor)
- Les Girls (1957)
- The Sun Also Rises (1957) (music supervisor, Spanish music)
- The Left Handed Gun (1958) (composer, ballad)
- The Big Country (1958) (uncredited orchestrator)
- Porgy and Bess (1959)
- Bells Are Ringing (1960)
- My Fair Lady (1964)
- The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
- Stagecoach (1966) (conductor)
- Star Trek (1966) (TV) (conductor)
- Doctor Dolittle (1967) (conductor)
- Hello, Dolly! (1969)
- The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
- The Island of Dr Moreau (1977)
- Yes, Giorgio (1982) (music co-ordinator)
- Lionheart (1987)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) (conductor)
- Poslední motýl (1990) (orchestrator for Alex North)
- Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
- Hook (1991)
- Mom and Dad Save the World (1992)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- IQ (1994)
- The River Wild (1994)
- The Shadow (1994)
- Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
- Powder (1995)
- First Knight (1995)
- The Edge (1997)
- Air Force One (1997)
- Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
- Small Soldiers (1998)
- Mulan (1998)
- US Marshals (1998)
- The Haunting (1999)
- The Mummy (1999)
- Hollow Man (2000)
Further Reading
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