Born on August 21, 1945, in Kansas City, Missouri, Basil Poledouris
learned the basic skills in many aspects of filmmaking at the University
of Southern California. He became knowledgeable in directing,
cinematography, sound, and editing. He also studied music under David
Raksin. After meeting acclaimed directors John Milius and Randal Kleiser
at USC (who he would later work with), he became hooked on film scoring
and began his professional composing career in 1978. Highlights of his
career outside of feature films include an Emmy for his work on the television
mini-series "Lonesome Dove" and the honor of composing and conducting "The
Tradition of the Games," a massive orchestral and choral piece, for the
Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, 1996.
Poledouris' music is often remembered as grand and orchestrally rousing,
yet his career produced a wide variety of creatively synthesized and choral compositions. After
numerous television works, Poledouris' college connections earned him a job scoring
Conan the
Barbarian in 1981, and he was quickly catapulted into the national spotlight. His scores for
action, adventure, and fantasy films such as
The Hunt for Red October,
Flesh & Blood,
Quigley Down Under and
Farewell to the King are reknown for their massive orchestral
and choral beauty.
In the 1990's, Poledouris branched out and began scoring children's films as well as serious
drama. While retaining his connections with directors John Milius, Randall Kleiser, Simon Wincer,
and Paul Verhoeven, he began composing more romantic melodies for films such as
Lassie,
Free Willy, and
The Jungle Book. He gained world-wide recognition in 1996 when he
appeared in front of millions of television viewers and conducted his original piece, "Tradition
of the Games" (a
Conan-like fanfare), for the opening of the Centennial Olympic Games in
Atlanta. He received widespread critical acclaim with his dramatically potent score for
Les
Misérables in 1998 and impressed collectors with the diverse
The Touch, his
final feature score, in 2002.
Poledouris was formerly married and had two children. His daughter Zoe is an
aspiring musician and has contributed to her father's work on
Conan
the Barbarian and
Starship Troopers. One of Poledouris'
favorite hobbies was sailing (which can be heard dramatically in his scores
for
Wind and
Free Willy), and he took his own boat out onto the
Pacific Ocean regularly. He believed, though, that his work should be separate from
his family life, which is why he lived in a home that is organized so he could
develop his late night/early morning thematic inspirations without
disturbing the rest of his family. At only the age of 61, and after a few final years
of turmoil in his personal and professional relationships, Poledouris lost his
battle with cancer in November of 2006.
Basil Poledouris mixes Starship Troopers in 1997
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