Jerry Fielding
Born: 17 June 1922, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died: 17 February 1980.
Biography:
American composer Jerry Fielding - real name Joshua Itzhak Feldman – was a bold, challenging pioneer of modern scoring of the 1960s 1970s, who took the work of contemporaries such as Bernard Herrmann, Leonard Rosenman and Alex North, and ran with it, resulting in a filmography full of harsh, angry scores that exude class and intelligence. He learned the trombone and clarinet as a child, and was offered a scholarship to the Carnegie Institute for Instrumentalists, but was unable to accept his place due to illness. He later worked at Pittsburgh’s Stanley Theater, where Max Atkins taught him composition and arranging, and subsequently joined Alvino Rey’s swing band as an arranger. Fielding was drafted into the Army during WWII, but was considered too frail for service, and instead became a vocal arranger for Lucy Ann Polk, and a big band arranger for bandleaders such as Claude Thornhill, Jimmie Lunceford, Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Les Brown and Kay Kyser. Hs work with Kyder led him to the world of radio, where he became the band leader for several radio programs, including The Jack Paar Program, The Hardy Family, and Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life, which ultimately led him to television. However, due to his membership of the Hollywood Writers Mobilization group, Fielding was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in December 1953. He took the Fifth Amendment, refusing to divulge the names of fellow members, and was then blacklisted by Hollywood. He retreated to Las Vegas, where he led a band at the Royal Las Vegas Hotel, and briefly toured with his own orchestra. Fielding's Hollywood lockout continued until 1961, when Otto Preminger selected him for the score of “Advise and Consent”, his first major film composition. From then on, Fielding enjoyed a number of successful collaborations with directors such as Sam Peckinpah, Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood and Michael Winner, resulting in such classic scores as “The Wild Bunch”, “Straw Dogs”, “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, “Escape from Alcatraz”, “The Gauntlet”, “The Big Sleep” and “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”. He was also prolific on the small screen, scoring numerous episodes of Star Trek, and writing title themes for classic TV shows such as McHale's Navy, Hogan's Heroes, Run, Buddy, Run, and The Bionic Woman. Fielding was a three-time Oscar nominee, for The Wild Bunch in 1969, Straw Dogs in 1971, and The Outlaw Josey Wales in 1976, but never won. Fielding was scoring the wrestling comedy "Below the Belt" for director Rob Fowler in Canada, when he died suddenly of a heart attack aged just 58.
Filmography:
Below the Belt (1980), Funeral Home (1980), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), Escape from Alcatraz (1979), High Midnight (1979), Mr. Horn (1979), The Big Sleep (1978), Gray Lady Down (1978), Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II (1978), Demon Seed (1977), The Gauntlet (1977), Little Ladies of the Night (1977), Semi-Tough (1977), The Bad News Bears (1976), The Enforcer (1976), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), The Black Bird (1975), Cage Without a Key (1975), The Cop and the Kid (1975), Hustling (1975), The Killer Elite (1975), Matt Helm (1975), One of Our Own (1975), Black Day for Bluebeard (1974), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), The Gambler (1974), Honky Tonk (1974), Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974), Sin, American Style (1974), The Super Cops (1974), Unwed Father (1974), The Deadly Trackers (1973), The Outfit (1973), Shirts/Skins (1973), Scorpio (1973), Chato's Land (1972), Junior Bonner (1972), Man in the Middle (1972), The Mechanic (1972), The Snoop Sisters (1972), A War of Children (1972), The Chicago Teddy Bears (1971), Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You (1971), Inside O.U.T. (1971), Johnny Got His Gun (1971), Lawman (1971), McMillan & Wife (1971), The Nightcomers (1971), Once Upon a Dead Man (1971), Straw Dogs (1971), Hunters Are for Killing (1970), Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? (1970), The Wild Bunch (1969), Mission Impossible Versus the Mob (1968), Monte Carlo: C'est La Rose (1968), The Crazy World of Laurel and Hardy (1967), Noon Wine (1966), Hogan's Heroes (1965), McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965), For Those Who Think Young (1964), McHale's Navy (1964), The Nut House (1963), Advise & Consent (1962), The Nun and the Sergeant (1962) .
Highest Grossing Films (adjusted for inflation):
Unavailable at this time.
Awards:
1976 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - The Outlaw Josey Wales
1971 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score – Straw Dogs
1969 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score (Drama/Comedy) - The Wild Bunch
1980 Emmy Awards – Winner, Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special – High Midnight
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