NEW YORK (WCBS 880)  -- Composer Alexander Courage, who was most famous for his theme for the original "Star Trek" television series, has died. According to sources cited by TrekMovie.com, he was 88.

Known by many as Sandy, Alexander Courage died on May 15 and was reported to have been in declining health since 2005.

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Courage also scored many episodes of the science fiction series that aired from 1966 to 1969 and his fanfare for the series has been used in all of the ten "Star Trek" movies. It has also been used in several of the television spinoffs and is expected to be used by composer Michael Giacchino in 2009's "Star Trek" prequel film.

The composer had an extensive career on both the small screen and the big screen.

He became Jerry Goldsmith's primary orchestrator in the 1990s. Courage worked with John Williams on "Fiddler on the Roof" and again to adapt music for "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace." I regard him as one of the three greatest orchestrators in cinema history. The other two were frequent John Williams collaborator Herbert Spencer and prior primary Jerry Goldsmith collaborator Arthur Morton. In the early 1990s, Morton and Courage served as co-orchestrators on many of Jerry Goldsmith's films.

John Williams, who is a recipient of 5 Academy Awards and has been nominated for a total of 45 Oscars, told the Los Angeles Times, "He made a very big contribution to the musical life of Hollywood from the end of the second World War to recent years."

Film music historian John Burlingame writes that he had a career with CBS Radio following his military service during World War II.

Courage was born on December 10, 1919 in Philadelphia. He is survived by several stepchildren and grandchildren. Memorial plans have not yet been announced.