Movie music maker Basil Poledouris dead at 61

basil.jpgFilm scores can add so much to the tone and the pace of a movie, often they are instrumental in adding tension or showing the beauty in a shot that, without a melody would be overlooked. Basil Poledouris understood this well, now at age 61 his song has come to an end. The folks over at yahoonews.com give us this:

Emmy-winning composer Basil Poledouris, best known for his powerful music for action-adventure films of the 1980s and ’90s, died of cancer in Los Angeles on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said. He was 61.

Poledouris worked on the scores for the early Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicles “Conan the Barbarian” (1982) and “Conan the Destroyer” (1984), and his orchestral-and-choral compositions came to be considered high points in the genre of music for fantasy films.

His other feature credits included “The Blue Lagoon” (1980), “Robocop” (1987), “The Hunt for Red October” (1990), and “Free Willy” (1993). He won an Emmy in 1989 for his folk-based Western score for the miniseries “Lonesome Dove.”

The Kansas City, Mo., native is survived by his mother and two daughters. No services are planned.

Film is one of the few types of art that calls for many artists to come together and work in harmony. I love that, because often times art is very isolating. Film composers get to work with many people, thus touching many lives.

Basil Poledouris’s music will be missed in films, but I am sure his presence will be by those who knew him even more.

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20 thoughts on “Movie music maker Basil Poledouris dead at 61

  1. aww free willy was my lif when i was a young lad your music in it was so smooth great stuff basil 61 year you were so young someone up there needed some music haaa my grandad died young.the music you did four robocop was great two and spider man you rock dudeeee..and live on you will be missed very muchi heard all your music spider man 1 2 free willy 1-3 robocop 1-3 basil poledouris great man good man take care r.i.p i have a friend called fisher he like rock so rock on dudeee…………robert 2007 tribute two basil poledouris one of is bigest fans.. r.i.p
    basil poledouris

  2. Thanks for posting this, Sharon.

    Basil Poledouris was a fantastic composer. Let’s not forget For Love Of The Game, Kimberly, Les Miserables, Starship Troopers, Lassie, Quigley Down Under, White Fang, Farewell To The King, Flesh And Blood, Amerika, Big Wednesday.

    It truly is a sad day.

  3. Conan, RoboCop, Hunt For Red October. Classic film scores if you ask me. Basil will be missed. Yes, Ed Bradley on the same day (least the 60 minutes reporter was a music lover…) and a few days ago, actress Adrianne Shelly died [although that appears to have been a case of foul play]

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