"I write with a pencil, paper, and my Steinway piano from my childhood. It's the only way I feel connected to the music. I have attempted to write on the computer and it's a complete bust. I keep thinking it would be quicker, easier, more fun, but alas. I need to touch the material I'm working with."
- Basil Poledouris in 1998

Born on August 21, 1945, in Kansas City, Missouri, Basil Poledouris learned the basic skills in many aspects of filmmaking at the University of Southern California. He became knowledgeable in directing, cinematography, sound, and editing. He also studied music under David Raksin. After meeting acclaimed directors John Milius and Randal Kleiser at USC (who he would later work with), he became hooked on film scoring and began his professional composing career in 1978. Highlights of his career outside of feature films include an Emmy for his work on the television mini-series "Lonesome Dove" and the honor of composing and conducting "The Tradition of the Games," a massive orchestral and choral piece, for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, 1996.

Poledouris' music is often remembered as grand and orchestrally rousing, yet his career produced a wide variety of creatively synthesized and choral compositions. After numerous television works, Poledouris' college connections earned him a job scoring Conan the Barbarian in 1981, and he was quickly catapulted into the national spotlight. His scores for action, adventure, and fantasy films such as The Hunt for Red October, Flesh & Blood, Quigley Down Under and Farewell to the King are reknown for their massive orchestral and choral beauty.

In the 1990's, Poledouris branched out and began scoring children's films as well as serious drama. While retaining his connections with directors John Milius, Randall Kleiser, Simon Wincer, and Paul Verhoeven, he began composing more romantic melodies for films such as Lassie, Free Willy, and The Jungle Book. He gained world-wide recognition in 1996 when he appeared in front of millions of television viewers and conducted his original piece, "Tradition of the Games" (a Conan-like fanfare), for the opening of the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. He received widespread critical acclaim with his dramatically potent score for Les Misérables in 1998 and impressed collectors with the diverse The Touch, his final feature score, in 2002.

Poledouris was formerly married and had two children. His daughter Zoe is an aspiring musician and has contributed to her father's work on Conan the Barbarian and Starship Troopers. One of Poledouris' favorite hobbies was sailing (which can be heard dramatically in his scores for Wind and Free Willy), and he took his own boat out onto the Pacific Ocean regularly. He believed, though, that his work should be separate from his family life, which is why he lived in a home that is organized so he could develop his late night/early morning thematic inspirations without disturbing the rest of his family. At only the age of 61, and after a few final years of turmoil in his personal and professional relationships, Poledouris lost his battle with cancer in November of 2006.