Jerry Goldsmith was one of the most gifted and prolific film composers of the 20th century. Early in his career, the Los Angeles native studied with renowned composer Miklos Rosza and was championed by Alfred Newman. Goldsmith started scoring TV shows in the 1950s (GUNSMOKE, TWILIGHT ZONE, MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.) but soon graduated to film soundtracks, where his evocative themes and elegant orchestrations made him a star in short order. In the '60s, he started working with avant garde formats (PLANET OF THE APES) and experimenting with electronics (THE ILLUSTRATED MAN) in addition to his orchestral scores. Of the innumerable film soundtracks he's created, many were nominated for Oscars, but incredibly, only his score for THE OMEN won the award.