Charles Harold Bernstein (born February 28, 1943) is an American composer of film and television scores. He is a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

winner, and a two-time

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

nominee. Since 1995, he has been a member of the Board of Governors of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

' Music Branch, and is a member of the Board of Directors for both the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

and the Society of Composers & Lyricists.

Early life and education

Bernstein was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

to mother Mildred Wolf (1910–2011) and father Charles Bernstein, Sr. (????-1952). His mother was a pianist. As for his father, he "was involved in writing and producing music in his early career," according to Bernstein. Bernstein also has a sister Carol Auslander and a stepfather Julius Wolf. Bernstein studied music at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

Career

Bernstein did his first score for the 1969 Oscar-winning documentary, '' Czechoslovakia 1968''. According to Bernstein, "I met the director,

Denis Sanders Denis Sanders (January 21, 1929 – December 10, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer who directed the debut performances of Robert Redford and Tom Skerritt in the 1962 film '' War Hunt''. He won two Academy Awards, ...

, through friends at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. It was a brilliant film, and I convinced Denis that I knew what sort of music would tell the story of the Russian invasion of its smaller neighbor. The film was unusual because it had no spoken words, only music and occasional sound effects to tell the story." His first

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

score was for the

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

film, '' White Lightning'' (1973), starring

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

. The film marked the first of many collaborations between Bernstein and director

Joseph Sargent Joseph Sargent (born Giuseppe Danielle Sorgente; July 22, 1925 – December 22, 2014) was an American film director. Though he directed many television movies, his best known feature-length works were arguably the action movie '' White Ligh ...

. Bernstein also scored the sequel to the film, ''

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'' (1976). Other films Bernstein scored during the 1970s include '' Hex'' (1973), '' That Man Bolt'' (1973), '' Mr. Majestyk'' (1974), '' Trackdown'' (1976), '' A Small Town in Texas'' (1976), '' Viva Knievel!'' (1977), '' Outlaw Blues'' (1977) and '' Love at First Bite'' (1979). He even wrote the dance music in the latter film. During the 1980s, Bernstein scored the music for the horror films '' The Entity'' (1982), '' Cujo'' (1983), ''

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

'' (1986) and ''

Deadly Friend ''Deadly Friend'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror film directed by Wes Craven, and starring Matthew Laborteaux, Kristy Swanson, Michael Sharrett, Anne Twomey, Richard Marcus, and Anne Ramsey. Its plot follows a teenage computer pr ...

'' (1986). Bernstein also scored non-horror films such as ''

Foolin' Around ''Foolin' Around'' is a 1980 American comedy romance sport film directed by Richard T. Heffron and starring Gary Busey and Annette O'Toole. The film was shot on location in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The theme music was performed by Seals ...

'' (1980). He continued to score music for documentaries such as '' Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision'' (1994) and '' After Innocence'' (2005), with the former winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary. He also scored music for made-for-television movies such as ''

Sadat Sadat ( ar, سادات) is a suffix, which is given to families believed to be descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. In Iran, after the revolution, it is mandatory to mention "Seyed" or "Sadat" in the names of or whose descent from Muham ...

'' (1983), ''

Miss Evers' Boys ''Miss Evers' Boys'' is an American made-for-television drama starring Alfre Woodard and Laurence Fishburne that first aired on February 22, 1997, and is based on the true story of the four-decade-long Tuskegee Syphilis Study. It was directed by ...

'' (1997), ''

The Long Island Incident ''The Long Island Incident'' is a 1998 American made-for-television drama film produced by Barbra Streisand's Barwood Films. The teleplay by Maria Nation is based on the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting. Plot On December 7, 1993, Jamaican ém ...

'' (1998) and '' Out of the Ashes'' (2003). Bernstein reunited with ''Cujo'' director Lewis Teague to score his films, ''Cante Jondo'' (2007) and ''Charlotta-TS'' (2010).

''A Nightmare on Elm Street''

Under the recommendation of his agent, Bernstein met with

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

and was hired to score his film, ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenka ...

'' (1984). On working with Craven: "Wes was easy to work with, he gave me a lot of freedom, but we could discuss ideas and approaches. In many ways he was an ideal director to communicate with because he listened well and was open to all ideas." Bernstein used an electric score since the film was low budget. Bernstein did not return to score the music for the other films in the franchise, though

Renny Harlin Renny Harlin (born 15 March 1959) is a Finnish film director, producer, and screenwriter who has made his career in Hollywood and China. His best-known films include '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'', ''The Adventures of Ford Fai ...

briefly talked to him about scoring the fourth film.

Use of his music

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

has included Bernstein's music from ''White Lightning'' and ''The Entity'' in the soundtracks of his films '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' (2003) and ''

Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an altern ...

'' (2009).

Personal life

Bernstein is married to Georgianne Cowan. They have one daughter, Serina. They reside in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. In addition to film composing, Bernstein is also the author of two books. One of them is titled ''Film Music and Everything Else''. The other is ''Movie Music: An Insider’s View''. He has also taught courses in the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

and the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

. Bernstein has been a long-serving member of the Board of Governors of the

since 1995. He is also in the Board of Directors for both the

and the

Society of Composers & Lyricists The Society of Composers & Lyricists is an organization founded in 1983 to represent composers and lyricists working in visual media, such as television and film. It sought union status in 1984 after the dissolution of the Composers and Lyricists G ...

. He co-founded the latter organization.

Filmography

Film

Television

TV movies

References

External links

* *
Charles Bernstein on his work with Lewis Teague
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Charles 1943 births 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers Musicians from Minneapolis American film score composers American television composers Juilliard School alumni Living people American male film score composers USC Thornton School of Music faculty UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture alumni 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Varèse Sarabande Records artists