Basil Poledouris

Basil Konstantine Poledouris (; August 21, 1945 – November 8, 2006) was an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator of film and television scores, best known for his long-running collaborations with directors Simon Wincer, John Milius, Randal Kleiser and Paul Verhoeven. Among his works are scores for the films Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn (1984), Iron Eagle (1986), RoboCop (1987), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Free Willy (1993), Starship Troopers (1997) and Les Misérables (1998).

Poledouris won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special for his work on the four-part miniseries Lonesome Dove in 1989, and was a four-time recipient of the BMI Film Music Award.

Life and career

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Greek immigrant parents from Messenia, he credited two influences with guiding him towards music: the first was composer Miklós Rózsa; the second his own Greek Orthodox heritage. Poledouris was raised in the Church, and he used to sit in services enthralled by the choir's sound. At the age of seven, Poledouris began piano lessons, and after graduation from Garden Grove High School, he enrolled at the University of Southern California to study both filmmaking and music. Several short films to which he contributed are still kept in the university's archives. At USC, Poledouris met movie directors John Milius and Randal Kleiser, with whom he would later collaborate as a music composer. He appeared as a background extra in several episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. In 1985, Poledouris wrote the music for Paul Verhoeven's Flesh & Blood, establishing a durable collaboration.

Poledouris became renowned for his powerfully epic style of orchestral composition and his intricate thematic designs. He scored the soundtrack for The Blue Lagoon (1980; dir: Kleiser); Conan the Barbarian (1982; dir: Milius); Conan the Destroyer (1984); Red Dawn (1984; dir: Milius), Iron Eagle (1986); RoboCop (1987; dir: Verhoeven); The Hunt for Red October (1990); Quigley Down Under (1990 Simon Wincer); Free Willy (1993) and its first sequel Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995); Starship Troopers (1997; dir: Verhoeven); and For Love of the Game (1999).

Poledouris' studio, "Blowtorch Flats", was located in Venice, California, and was a professional mixing facility specializing in film and media production.

Poledouris married his wife Bobbie in 1969; they had two daughters, Zoë and Alexis. His elder daughter, Zoë Poledouris, is an actress and film composer, who occasionally collaborated with her father in composing film soundtracks.

In 1996, Poledouris composed "The Tradition of the Games" for the Atlanta Olympics opening ceremony that accompanied the memorable dance tribute to the athletes and goddesses of victory of the ancient Greek Olympics using silhouette imagery.

Poledouris spent the last four years of his life residing on Vashon Island, in Washington state. He died on November 8, 2006, in Los Angeles, California, aged 61, from lung cancer.

Awards and nominations Winner Best Score for Miniseries – Emmy Awards (Lonesome Dove) Nominee Best Score – Saturn Awards (Conan the Barbarian) Winner Special Recognition Music Award – BMI Film & TV Awards (Olympic Tribute for "The Tradition of the Games") Winner Film Music Award – BMI Awards (Free Willy) Winner Film Music Award – BMI Awards (The Hunt for Red October) Winner TV Music Award – BMI Awards (Lonesome Dove) Winner Film Music Award – BMI Awards (RoboCop)

Filmography Films Year Title Director Studio(s) Notes1970The Reversal of Richard SunJohn MiliusUSC School of Cinematic ArtsStudent film 1973 Hollywood 90028 Christina HornisherParker National Distribution Extreme Close-Up Jeannot SzwarcGeneral Cinema Corporation 1974 Vrooom Ken Rudolph Pyramid Films 1977 Tintorera René Cardona Jr. Hemdale Film CorporationUnited Film Distribution 1978 Big Wednesday John Milius Warner Bros. 1980 The Blue Lagoon Randal Kleiser Columbia Pictures 1982 Conan the Barbarian John Milius De Laurentiis Entertainment GroupUniversal Pictures (North America)20th Century Fox (International)Nominated:Saturn Award for Best Music Summer Lovers Randal Kleiser Filmways Pictures 1984 Making the Grade Dorian Walker Cannon Films Conan the Destroyer Richard Fleischer De Laurentiis Entertainment GroupUniversal Pictures Red Dawn John Milius United ArtistsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Protocol Herbert Ross Warner Bros. 1985 Flesh & Blood Paul Verhoeven Orion Pictures 1986 Iron Eagle Sidney J. Furie TriStar Pictures 1987 RoboCop Paul Verhoeven Orion PicturesWon:BMI Film Music Award No Man's Land Peter Werner 1988 Cherry 2000 Steve De Jarnatt Spellbinder Janet Greek Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Split Decisions David Drury New Century Entertainment 1989 Wired Larry Peerce Taurus Entertainment Farewell to the King John Milius Orion Pictures 1990 The Hunt for Red October John McTiernan Paramount PicturesWon:BMI Film Music Award Quigley Down Under Simon Wincer PathéMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1991 Flight of the Intruder John Milius Paramount Pictures White Fang Randal Kleiser Walt Disney Pictures with Hans Zimmer Return to the Blue Lagoon William A. Graham Columbia Pictures Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man Simon Wincer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1992 Wind Carroll Ballard TriStar Pictures 1993 Hot Shots! Part Deux Jim Abrahams 20th Century Fox Free Willy Simon Wincer Le Studio Canal+Regency EnterprisesWarner Bros. Family EntertainmentWon:BMI Film Music Award RoboCop 3 Fred Dekker Orion Pictures 1994 On Deadly Ground Steven Seagal Warner Bros. Serial Mom John Waters Savoy Pictures Lassie Daniel Petrie Western PublishingParamount Pictures Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book Stephen Sommers Walt Disney Pictures 1995 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory Geoff Murphy Regency EnterprisesWarner Bros. Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home Dwight H. Little Le Studio Canal+Regency EnterprisesWarner Bros. Family Entertainment 1996 It's My Party Randal Kleiser United Artists Celtic Pride Tom DeCerchio Caravan PicturesHollywood PicturesAmandaBobby Roth The War at Home Emilio Estevez Touchstone Pictures1997BreakdownJonathan MostowDino De Laurentiis CompanyParamount Pictures Switchback Jeb Stuart Rysher EntertainmentParamount Pictures Starship Troopers Paul Verhoeven TriStar Pictures (North America) Touchstone Pictures (International)1998Les MisérablesBille AugustMandalay EntertainmentColumbia Pictures 1999 Mickey Blue Eyes Kelly Makin Castle Rock EntertainmentWarner Bros. (US)Universal Pictures (UK) Kimberly Frederic Golchan Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KGArdustry Home Entertainment For Love of the Game Sam Raimi Renaissance PicturesBeacon PicturesTig ProductionsUniversal Pictures 2000 Cecil B. Demented John Waters Le Studio Canal+Artisan Entertainment 2001 Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles Simon Wincer Paramount Pictures 2002 The Touch Peter Pau Miramax Films

Television

Other works 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games (Opening Ceremony) Conan Sword & Sorcery Spectacular (Universal Studios' live stage show) American Journeys (A Circle-Vision 360° film at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom) Flyers (IMAX, 1982) Behold Hawaii (IMAX, 1983)