Biography
Alexander Courage was an American composer, orchestrator and arranger of music for film and television. Born Alexander Mair Courage Jr. in Philadelphia on 10 December 1919, he studied at the Eastman School of Music before serving in the US Army during the Second World War. He began his career in radio and joined MGM as an orchestrator in 1948.
Courage is best known for composing the theme for the original Star Trek television series in 1965. He scored numerous television episodes and series, including many for The Waltons, and composed or adapted scores for films such as Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), for which he incorporated themes by John Williams. He also worked extensively as an orchestrator on scores by John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, including Jurassic Park (1993) and The Mummy (1999).
Courage received an Emmy Award in 1988 and two Academy Award nominations for his arranging work. He died in Pacific Palisades, California, on 15 May 2008.
