Gerald Fried Wiki, Biography
Composer Gerald Fried, who won an Emmy for the landmark miniseries “Roots” and whose 1960s scores, from “Star Trek” to “Gilligan’s Island,” left an indelible impression on a generation of TV watchers, died of pneumonia Friday at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, Ct. He was 95.
His wide-ranging career included scoring five early Stanley Kubrick films, including “Paths of Glory” and “The Killing”; receiving the only Oscar nomination ever given for a documentary score, 1975’s “Birds Do It, Bees Do It”; and earning five other Emmy nominations for music in specials, TV movies and miniseries.
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 70s, 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).
Born and raised in The Bronx, New York City, Fried attended The Juilliard School of Music. He attended The High School of Music & Art, graduating in 1945, 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.” 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. His credits consist of nearly 300 films, television episodes, and specials.
In December 1987, Fried lost his 5-year-old son, Zachary, to AIDS (from tainted blood from a blood bank); his screenplay and stage play Morningtime Train was based on the experience. Zachary’s childhood drawings were used on T-shirts in fundraisers for The Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Fried died of pneumonia in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on February 17, 2023, four days after his 95th birthday
Fried was a strong supporter of the fight against AIDS. His 5-year-old son Zack died of AIDS in 1987; born prematurely with severe medical issues, he was given 27 blood transfusions, one or more of which turned out to be tainted with HIV. The Fried family produced a line of T-shirts adorned with Zack’s drawings, proceeds of which were donated to AIDS fundraisers.
Survivors include his wife, Anita; four children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
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