Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPrimetime EmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalFall TV GuideMost Anticipated This MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayTrending peopleCelebrity news
    IMDb LabsHelp centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Ian Freebairn-Smith(1932-2025)

  • Composer
  • Music Department
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Ian Freebairn-Smith
Ian Freebairn-Smith was born on 4 March 1932 in Seattle, Washington, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The Muppet Movie (1979), The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse (1977) and Airwolf (1984). He was married to Shari Zippert and Billie Jean Mercer. He died on 7 October 2025 in Folsom, California, USA.
BornMarch 4, 1932
DiedOctober 7, 2025(93)
BornMarch 4, 1932
DiedOctober 7, 2025(93)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Known for

Orson Welles, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Frank Oz, Milton Berle, Dom DeLuise, Elliott Gould, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Edgar Bergen, and Paul Williams in The Muppet Movie (1979)
The Muppet Movie
7.6
  • Music Department
  • 1979
The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse (1977)
The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse
5.4
  • Composer
  • 1977
Ernest Borgnine, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Alex Cord in Airwolf (1984)
Airwolf
6.7
TV Series
  • Composer
Ransom (1988)
Ransom
4.7
  • Composer
  • 1988

Credits

IMDbPro

Composer

  • Alberto Giacometti - Sculptor of the Gaze (2015)
    Alberto Giacometti - Sculptor of the Gaze
    TV Special
    • Composer
    • 2015
  • Los Angeles History Project (1988)
    Los Angeles History Project
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1989
  • Ransom (1988)
    Ransom
    4.7
    • Composer
    • 1988
  • Patrick Cassidy, David Hemmings, and Bruce A. Young in Three on a Match (1987)
    Three on a Match
    6.2
    TV Movie
    • Composer
    • 1987
  • Cagney & Lacey (1981)
    Cagney & Lacey
    6.9
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1984
  • Ernest Borgnine, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Alex Cord in Airwolf (1984)
    Airwolf
    6.7
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1984
  • Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Cynthia Gibb, Erica Gimpel, Bill Hufsey, Carlo Imperato, Valerie Landsburg, and Gene Anthony Ray in Fame (1982)
    Fame
    7.1
    TV Series
    • score
    • 1984
  • Gary Grubbs in For Love and Honor (1983)
    For Love and Honor
    6.4
    TV Movie
    • Composer
    • 1983
  • River Phoenix, Richard Dean Anderson, Peter Horton, Drake Hogestyn, Terri Treas, and Roger Wilson in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982)
    Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
    6.6
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1983
  • Deadly Lessons (1983)
    Deadly Lessons
    5.2
    TV Movie
    • music by
    • 1983
  • Gabe and Walker
    TV Movie
    • Composer
    • 1981
  • Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. (1980)
    Magnum, P.I.
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1980
  • What's Up Doc
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Composer (1978)
    • 1978
  • The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse (1977)
    The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse
    5.4
    • Composer
    • 1977
  • Dreams of Glass (1970)
    Dreams of Glass
    5.7
    • Composer
    • 1970

Music Department

  • The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
    The Day the Earth Stood Still
    5.5
    • bass vocals (uncredited)
    • 2008
  • Andy Serkis and Naomi Watts in King Kong (2005)
    King Kong
    7.2
    • singer (uncredited)
    • 2005
  • Jason Isaacs, Don Battee, Brian Carbee, Septimus Caton, Alan Cinis, Frank Gallacher, Phil Meacham, Darren Andrew Mitchell, Ludivine Sagnier, Bruce Spence, Jeremy Sumpter, Jacob Tomuri, Frank Whitten, Dan Wyllie, Harry Eden, Mick Roughan, George MacKay, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Harry Newell, Freddie Popplewell, Rupert Simonian, Theodore Chester, Lachlan Gooch, Patrick Gooch, and Venant Wong in Peter Pan (2003)
    Peter Pan
    6.8
    • bass vocals (uncredited)
    • 2003
  • Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
    The Matrix Revolutions
    6.8
    • score vocalist (uncredited)
    • 2003
  • Peanuts (1965)
    Peanuts
    7.5
    TV Series
    • music arranger (uncredited)
    • 1985
  • You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985)
    You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
    7.3
    TV Movie
    • music arranger (uncredited)
    • 1985
  • Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. (1980)
    Magnum, P.I.
    7.5
    TV Series
    • composer: theme
    • composer: theme music
    • 1980–1981
  • Orson Welles, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Frank Oz, Milton Berle, Dom DeLuise, Elliott Gould, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Edgar Bergen, and Paul Williams in The Muppet Movie (1979)
    The Muppet Movie
    7.6
    • conductor
    • music arranger
    • 1979
  • Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise in The End (1978)
    The End
    6.1
    • conductor
    • music arranger
    • 1978
  • A Star Is Born (1976)
    A Star Is Born
    6.1
    • music arranger (uncredited)
    • 1976
  • Muriel Smith in Voice of the Hurricane (1964)
    Voice of the Hurricane
    • conductor
    • 1964
  • Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963)
    Charade
    7.8
    • chorus (uncredited)
    • 1963
  • Hatari! (1962)
    Hatari!
    7.1
    • chorus (uncredited)
    • 1962

Actor

  • Orson Welles, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Frank Oz, Milton Berle, Dom DeLuise, Elliott Gould, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Edgar Bergen, and Paul Williams in The Muppet Movie (1979)
    The Muppet Movie
    7.6
    • Bogen County Fair Band Player (uncredited)
    • 1979

Personal details

  • Born
    • March 4, 1932
    • Seattle, Washington, USA
  • Died
    • October 7, 2025
    • Folsom, California, USA(undisclosed)
  • Spouses
      Shari Zippert2018 - 2024 (her death, 1 child)
  • Children
      Alison
  • Parents
    • Thomas Freebairn-Smith

Did you know

  • Trivia
    Parents were English-born.

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

You have no recently viewed pages
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2026 by IMDb.com, Inc.