Billy Goldenberg
Encyclopedia
William Leon "Billy" Goldenberg (born February 10, 1936, Brooklyn
, New York City
) is an American
composer most known for his work on television and film.
Among his most noteworthy were his collaborations with Steven Spielberg
on his telefilms
(in particular, Duel) and his seven-episode contribution toward the NBC Mystery Movie
detective series Columbo. He composed the theme music for several popular televisions shows including Kojak
, Rhoda
, Rage of Angels
and Our House. He also composed the scores to countless of films and made-for-TV movies; including Onassis: The Richest Man in the World, 18 Again!, Guilty Conscience, Helter Skelter, The Legend of Lizzie Borden and hundreds others.
He served as Musical Director for "Elvis Presley
's Comeback Special," "The Ann-Margret
Show," "An Evening with Diana Ross
" and others.
He was awarded an Emmy in 1975 for the series "Benjamin Franklin" and again in 1978 for the mini-series "King". He has received 22 Emmy nominations in total.
He served a musical accompanist for An Evening with Elaine May and Mike Nichols. He was also the composer of the Michael Bennett
-directed Broadway
musical
Ballroom
, based on the television special Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
, which he also composed. He was co-creator and accompanist of Bea Arthur on Broadway - Just Between Friends, which received a Tony nomination and toured extensively through the US, UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa. In September 2009, he Executive Produced a star-studded Broadway tribute to Arthur, a friend of over 30 years, who died in April 2009.
His songs have been recorded by Barbra Streisand
, Liza Minnelli
, Diana Ross
, Bea Arthur, and Dorothy Loudon
amongst others.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer most known for his work on television and film.
Among his most noteworthy were his collaborations with Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
on his telefilms
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
(in particular, Duel) and his seven-episode contribution toward the NBC Mystery Movie
NBC Mystery Movie
The NBC Mystery Movie is the general name of an American television series, produced by Universal Studios, that was broadcast by NBC from 1971-77...
detective series Columbo. He composed the theme music for several popular televisions shows including Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
, Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
, Rage of Angels
Rage of Angels
Rage of Angels is a 1980 novel by Sidney Sheldon. The novel revolves around young attorney Jennifer Parker, as she rises as a successful lawyer after being framed for threatening the chief witness against a Mafia boss by mistakenly giving him a dead canary with a broken neck which in turn leads to...
and Our House. He also composed the scores to countless of films and made-for-TV movies; including Onassis: The Richest Man in the World, 18 Again!, Guilty Conscience, Helter Skelter, The Legend of Lizzie Borden and hundreds others.
He served as Musical Director for "Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's Comeback Special," "The Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
Show," "An Evening with Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
" and others.
He was awarded an Emmy in 1975 for the series "Benjamin Franklin" and again in 1978 for the mini-series "King". He has received 22 Emmy nominations in total.
He served a musical accompanist for An Evening with Elaine May and Mike Nichols. He was also the composer of the Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....
-directed Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Ballroom
Ballroom (musical)
Ballroom is a musical with a book by Jerome Kass and music by Billy Goldenberg and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.Based on Kass' teleplay for the 1975 Emmy Award-winning television drama Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, the plot focuses on lonely widow Bea Asher, who becomes romantically...
, based on the television special Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
Queen of the Stardust Ballroom is an American television movie directed by Sam O'Steen and produced by Roger Gimbel. It was broadcast by CBS on February 13, 1975...
, which he also composed. He was co-creator and accompanist of Bea Arthur on Broadway - Just Between Friends, which received a Tony nomination and toured extensively through the US, UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa. In September 2009, he Executive Produced a star-studded Broadway tribute to Arthur, a friend of over 30 years, who died in April 2009.
His songs have been recorded by Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
, Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, Bea Arthur, and Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...
amongst others.