Klaus Doldinger, Composer of ‘Das Boot’ and ‘The NeverEnding Story,’ Dies at 89

Klaus Doldinger, the German saxophonist and composer who created the soundtracks to Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot and The NeverEnding Story, had died. He was 89.

Doldinger died on Oct. 16, his family confirmed to German press agency dpa.

Born May 12, 1936, in Berlin, Doldinger studied piano and clarinet but was drawn to the jazz music brought to Germany by American GIs after the war. Having lived through the Nazi dictatorship, Doldinger later wrote in his 2022 autobiography, “Made in Germany. Mein Leben für die Musik,” he decided to make music “that you couldn’t march in step or click your heels together [to].” The fascination with those free rhythms never left Doldinger. In 1971, he formed Passport, a long-running jazz-fusion outfit that toured internationally and released dozens of albums over five decades.

Doldinger’s breakthrough in film came with his sparse, electronic-tinged soundtrack to Petersen’s Petersen’s submarine drama Das Boot (1981). Against the backdrop of a minimal orchestral ensemble, just strings, brass and percussion, Doldinger used early synthesizers to create a sonic soundscape evoking sonar pulses, engine drones and the metallic ambience inside the World War 2 U-boat. The title theme’s steadily ascending line, mirroring the claustrophobic tension within the sub, became a signature motif. An early 90s techno remix of the theme, by the German band U96 (named after the submarine’s military designation) spent 13 weeks at number one of the German single charts and topped charts across much of Europe.

Doldinger returned to big-screen fantasy with The NeverEnding Story (1984), Petersen’s adaptation of Michael Ende’s classic children’s book. Doldinger’s original score was a classical European affair, with sweeping strings and brass-heavy cues (with only the occasional synth coloring) inspired by the film’s fairy-tale origins. For The NeverEnding Story‘s international release, producers brought in Flashdance composer Giorgio Moroder to give Doldinger’s score a sleeker pop-synth gloss, adding drum machines and arpeggiated synthesizers, as well as a new title song, performed by English pop singer Limahl, which was a top 10 hit on the single charts in the U.S. and U.K.

Inside Germany, Doldinger was also known for his themes and TV scores composed for television, most famously his brief, instantly recognizable jazz-fusion intro for Tatort, a weekly crime show that has remained Germany’s most-watched scripted series for decades.

Doldinger balanced screen work with Passport, recording and touring while maintaining a steady output for film and TV from his base in Bavaria.

He is survived by his wife Inge and their three children.