Bernie Wayne (born Bernard Weitzner; March 6, 1919 – April 18, 1993) was an American composer who wrote over 1,000 songs and music for commercial jingles. He was best known for " Blue Velvet", which was recorded as a hit by numerous artists, and " There She Is", the song long associated with the
Miss America
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...
pageant, as well as songs written for
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, Broadway musicals and Hollywood productions. He also wrote the tune featured in commercials for Chock full o'Nuts which portrayed it as the "heavenly coffee".
Personal life
Wayne was born in 1919 in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey."Obituary: Bernie Wayne" ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', April 30, 1993. Accessed December 16, 2012. He was married to Phyllis Michelle, and died at the age of 74 of
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood.
Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
in
Marina del Rey, California
Marina del Rey ( Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The eponymous harbor is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles ar ...
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
'' Gun Crazy.'' Working with Lee Morris, Wayne co-wrote ''Blue Velvet,'' which was performed by
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
in the 1950s, was a number one hit for
Bobby Vinton
Stanley Robert Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American singer and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One ...
in the 1960s and has been recorded over the years by such artists as
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
.
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...
's 1986 film '' Blue Velvet'' featured the song. On Broadway, he wrote music for ''Listen to Liz'', ''Skits-oh-Frantics'' and ''Torero!'' He produced the soundtracks for ''
Zorba the Greek
''Zorba the Greek'' (, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek intellectual who ventures to escape his bookish life with the aid of the boisterous and m ...
'' in 1964 and for the 1965 film ''
A Patch of Blue
''A Patch of Blue'' is a 1965 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed and written by Guy Green (filmmaker), Guy Green about the friendship between an educated black man (played by Sidney Poitier) and an illiterate, blind, white ...
'' as director of
artists and repertoire
Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for scouting, financing, and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters. It also acts as a l ...
at
20th Century Fox Records
20th Century Fox Records (also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, or simply 20th Century Fox Film Scores and Fox Records) was a wholly owned subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox. The history of the label covers three distin ...
.
He also created some of the more memorable instrumental novelty melodies in the
Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
genre. Examples include "The Magic Touch" from the film ''More About Love'', "Port-au-Prince" (a Nelson Riddle single), and "Vanessa" (recorded by Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra, and used as a theme song for several 1950s TV series.)
The song " There She Is" became the theme song of the
Miss America
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', April 20, 1983. Accessed December 16, 2012. The pageant had stopped playing the song in 1981 after an argument over royalties for the song and had tried to bring back Bert Parks to sing his trademark song at the 1986 pageant, but he declined.via
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...