Ernest Gold

Ernest Gold (July 13, 1921 – March 17, 1999), born Ernst Gold, was an American award-winning composer. Born in Vienna, Austria; Gold wrote nearly 100 film and television scores between 1945 and 1992. Among his most notable contributions include the title songs for It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and On the Beach.

Gold's contributions were recognized with four Academy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations. He won a Golden Globe in 1960 for Best Motion Picture Score for 1959's On the Beach, and won an Academy Award a year later for Best Music: Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, for Exodus. His work on On the Beach also won Gold a Grammy Award. The Hollywood Walk of Fame has also recognized Gold with a star on famed Hollywood Boulevard. Gold's classical works also included a piano concerto, a string quartet, and a piano sonata.

He was married twice; first to Marni Nixon from 1950–1969 which produced singer/son Andrew Gold ("Lonely Boy"), and from 1975–1999 to Jan Keller Gold. Gold died on March 17, 1999 in Santa Monica, California at the age of 77 from complications from a stroke.