Charles 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 (NA ...

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. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

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 in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

' Music Branch. He has also been 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, broadc ...

and the Society of Composers & Lyricists.

Early life and education

Bernstein was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

to mother Mildred Wolf (1910–2011) and father Charles Bernstein, Sr. (). 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. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Career

Bernstein did his first score for the 1969

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning documentary, ''

Czechoslovakia 1968 ''Czechoslovakia 1968'' (also known as ''Czechoslovakia 1918-1968'') is a 1969 short documentary film about the "Prague Spring", the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The film was produced by the United States Information Agency (USIA) und ...

''. 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. He was the brother of Terry Sanders. Biography He was born in New York City, the son of sculptor and designer Altina Schinasi. ...

, through friends at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. It was a brilliant film, and I convinced Denis that I knew what sort of music would tell the story of the small country's invasion by its two most powerful neighbors. 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) * Hollywood ...

score was for the

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

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

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...

. 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. He is best known for his feature-length works, like the action movie '' White Lightning'' starring Burt Reynolds, the biopi ...

. Bernstein also scored the sequel to the film, '' Gator'' (1976). Other films Bernstein scored during the 1970s include '' Hex'' (1973), ''

That Man Bolt ''That Man Bolt'' is a 1973 American action film directed by David Lowell Rich and Henry Levin. It stars Fred Williamson in the title role of a courier and Byron Webster. The film combined several genres: blaxploitation, the martial arts film, ...

'' (1973), '' Mr. Majestyk'' (1974), '' Trackdown'' (1976), '' A Small Town in Texas'' (1976), '' Viva Knievel!'' (1977), '' Outlaw Blues'' (1977) and ''

Love at First Bite ''Love at First Bite'' is a 1979 American comedy horror film directed by Stan Dragoti and written by Robert Kaufman, using characters originally created by Bram Stoker. It stars George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, and Art ...

'' (1979). He even wrote the dance music in the latter film. During the 1980s, Bernstein scored the music for the

horror films Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

The Entity ''The Entity'' is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Sidney J. Furie, and starring Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, David Labiosa, Maggie Blye, Jacqueline Brookes, and Alex Rocco. The film follows a single mother in Los Angel ...

'' (1982), ''

Cujo ''Cujo'' () is a 1981 horror novel by American writer Stephen King about a rabid Saint Bernard. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982 and was made into a film in 1983. Cujo's name was based on the alias of Willie Wolfe, one of th ...

'' (1983), ''

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...

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

Foolin' Around ''Foolin' Around'' is a 1980 American romantic comedy sports film directed by Richard T. Heffron and starring Gary Busey and Annette O'Toole. The film was shot on location in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The theme music was perfo ...

'' (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 The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to '' Kukan'' and '' Target for Tonight''. They have since been bes ...

. He also scored music for made-for-television movies such as '' Sadat'' (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'' (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 and producer. Amongst his Wes Craven filmography, prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the Horror film, horror genre, particularly sla ...

and was hired to score his film, ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American Supernatural horror film, 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), ''A ...

'' (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 electronic score since the film had a small budget. Bernstein did not return to score the music for the other films in the franchise, though

Renny Harlin Renny Harlin (born Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola; 15 March 1959) is a Finnish film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter who has worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood, Europe, and Cinema of China, China. His best-known film ...

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 filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

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 epic film, epic war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger ...

'' (2009). Various hip hop artists have sampled Bernstein’s film scores, such as

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

, who has used his music from

for his song

Vinyl Days ''Vinyl Days'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper Logic, released on June 17, 2022, by Visionary Music Group and Def Jam Recordings, marking his final album with both labels. It contains 30 songs, making it the album with the most t ...

, as well as

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is an American-British rapper. Born in London and raised in Atlanta, he began his recording career in 2013 and released three independent mixtapes to regiona ...

, who have used a choral sample of his music from ''

Invasion of the Bee Girls An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of c ...

'' for their song Rich Flex.

Personal life

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. 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 The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. 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 Jews 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