Ernest Gold

Who was Ernest Gold?

Ernest Gold lived from July 13, 1921 to March 17, 1999. Gold was born in 1921 in Vienna, the son of Elisabeth (Stransky) and Gustav Goldner. Gold's father's mother (Jaiteles) ancestry from Szeged, Hungary and mother's mother (Therese Sprung) from Temesvár (at the time part of Hungary and now in Romania) and Budapest (Spitzer). Ernest Gold came from a musical family. His father played the violin and his mother sang. His father also studied under Richard Heuberger. Ernst Sigmund Goldner (July 13, 1921 – March 17, 1999), known professionally as Ernest Gold, was an Austrian-American composer of film and television scores. Ernest Gold said he learned to read music before he learned to read words. He studied violin and piano when he was six and began composing music at eight. By 13, he had written an entire opera.

As a child, he said he wanted to go to Hollywood, Los Angeles and be a composer. Ernst Sigmund Goldner, known professionally as Ernest Gold, was an Austrian-American composer of film and television scores.

Historical significance

He won an Academy Award and two Grammy Awards for his work on the film Exodus (1960), and a Golden Globe for On the Beach (1959). He received an additional three Oscar nominations throughout his career, and was the first composer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.