Post by ۞Quaalude™۞ on May 31, 2008 0:29:41 GMT -5
Alexander Courage, 'Star Trek' Theme Writer, Dies 
QC
Alexander Courage, who would find fame as the man behind the theme to the original "Star Trek" who would later depart the series over a royalty dispute with Gene Roddenberry, has died. He was 88.
Courage had been living in the Sunrise assisted living facility in Pacific Palisades, Calif., when he passed away May 15, according to Film Music Society.
Courage got his start as an uncredited music composer for the 1950 film "Annie Get Your Gun" and later for "Show Boat." He also was an orchestrator for the classic film "Singing In the Rain" as well as "Oklahoma!" and "Guys and Dolls." By the time he was asked to write the theme to "Star Trek" in the mid-1960s, he already had more than 30 composing credits, and the fanfare from his theme would earn him credit in a number of later Star Trek films, including those that involved the crew of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Born in Philadelphia, Courage played both the horn and the piano as a child, and would receive his degree form the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. in 1941. He would join the Army Air Corps and would work as a bandleader at various bases in California and Arizona.
He would move over to CBS Radio following the war, working on a number of series, before taking on films.
Courage would end his association with Star Trek when Roddenberry wrote lyrics to his theme reportedly as a way for him to collect on half the royalties Courage would receive for writing the song. The lyrics would never be used in the series or later movies, and Courage was said to have felt he had been cheated by Roddenberry.
However, Courage did make somewhat of a return to Star Trek following Roddenberry's death in 1991 doing orchestrations for "Star Trek: First Contact" and "Star Trek: Insurrection."
Survivors include four stepchildren and six grandchildren. His third wife, Shirley Pumpelly, died in 2005. R.I.P
QCAlexander Courage, who would find fame as the man behind the theme to the original "Star Trek" who would later depart the series over a royalty dispute with Gene Roddenberry, has died. He was 88.
Courage had been living in the Sunrise assisted living facility in Pacific Palisades, Calif., when he passed away May 15, according to Film Music Society.
Courage got his start as an uncredited music composer for the 1950 film "Annie Get Your Gun" and later for "Show Boat." He also was an orchestrator for the classic film "Singing In the Rain" as well as "Oklahoma!" and "Guys and Dolls." By the time he was asked to write the theme to "Star Trek" in the mid-1960s, he already had more than 30 composing credits, and the fanfare from his theme would earn him credit in a number of later Star Trek films, including those that involved the crew of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Born in Philadelphia, Courage played both the horn and the piano as a child, and would receive his degree form the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. in 1941. He would join the Army Air Corps and would work as a bandleader at various bases in California and Arizona.
He would move over to CBS Radio following the war, working on a number of series, before taking on films.
Courage would end his association with Star Trek when Roddenberry wrote lyrics to his theme reportedly as a way for him to collect on half the royalties Courage would receive for writing the song. The lyrics would never be used in the series or later movies, and Courage was said to have felt he had been cheated by Roddenberry.
However, Courage did make somewhat of a return to Star Trek following Roddenberry's death in 1991 doing orchestrations for "Star Trek: First Contact" and "Star Trek: Insurrection."
Survivors include four stepchildren and six grandchildren. His third wife, Shirley Pumpelly, died in 2005. R.I.P
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