Ernst Sigmund Goldner (July 13, 1921 – March 17, 1999), known professionally as Ernest Gold, was an Austrian-born American composer.
[4] In New York City, Gold earned money by working as an accompanist and writing popular songs.
[7] NBC Orchestra performed Gold's first symphony in 1939, only a year after he moved to the United States.
[7] Gold moved to Hollywood in the same year to work with Columbia Pictures, his first significant role being the score for the melodrama Girl of the Limberlost (1945).
[6] In 1955, Stanley Kramer asked Gold to orchestrate Not as a Stranger for which George Antheil had composed the music.
This production opened the door for Gold to work with other scores by Antheil and to orchestrate more of Kramer's films.
His big break came in 1959, when he was asked to score On the Beach after Antheil became ill and recommended Gold for the job.
[16] Ernest Gold died March 17, 1999, in Santa Monica, California, at 77 from complications following a stroke.