The Film Music Society reports that composer Alexander Courage died 15 May 2008. Born 10 December 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he will be remembered for his “Star Trek Fanfare”, the theme music to the iconic sf television show. He won an Emmy for music direction (for Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas) in 1988, and was nominated for two other Emmys and two Oscars.
After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in 1941, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served as a bandleader. After World War II, he went to work for CBS Radio as a composer and conductor, and then went on to score movies in the 1950s. He also wrote orchestral arrangements for recording projects such as Barbra Streisand’s Broadway Album and Joshua Bell’s Gershwin Fantasy album.
In addition to all of the Star Trek films and most of the television shows, Courage’s genre work includes: Hollow Man (2000), The Haunting (1999), The 13th Warrior (1999), The Mummy (1999), Small Soldiers (1998), Mulan (1998), Deep Rising (1998), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), Powder (1995), The Shadow (1994), Jurassic Park (1993), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), Hook (1991), Gremlins 2: The New Batch L(1990), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Legend (1985), Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977), one episode of Land of the Giants (1969), Doctor Dolittle (1967), six episodes of Lost in Space (1966-68), and five episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-66).
Courage was also an award-winning photographer; his work appeared in magazines such as Life and Colliers. He is survived by four stepchildren and six grandchildren.