Charles Bernstein (born February 28, 1943) is an American composer of film and television scores. He is a Daytime Emmy Award winner, and a two-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee. Since 1995, he has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Music Branch. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors for both the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and the Society of Composers & Lyricists.
Early life and education Bernstein was born in Minneapolis 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.
Though they share a surname and an occupation, he is not related to composers Elmer Bernstein and Leonard Bernstein.
Career Bernstein did his first score for the 1969 Oscar-winning documentary, Czechoslovakia 1968. According to Bernstein, "I met the director, Denis Sanders, through friends at UCLA. 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."
Bernstein's early film scores included the B movies The Man from O.R.G.Y. (1970), Sweet Kill (1972, the directorial debut of Curtis Hanson), Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973, also directed by Sanders), and the cult Western horror film Hex (also 1973).
His first score for a major Hollywood studio was for the United Artists film, White Lightning (1973), starring Burt Reynolds. The film marked the first of many collaborations between Bernstein and director Joseph Sargent. Bernstein also scored the sequel to the film, Gator (1976). Other films Bernstein scored during the 1970s include 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 (1986) and Deadly Friend (1986). Bernstein also scored non-horror films such as Foolin' Around (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 (1983), Miss Evers' Boys (1997), The Long Island Incident (1998) and Out of the Ashes (2003).
Bernstein reunited with Cujo director Lewis Teague to score his independent films, Cante Jondo (2007) and Charlotta-TS (2010).Charles Bernstein Interview on YouTube
A Nightmare on Elm Street Under the recommendation of his agent, Bernstein met with Wes Craven and was hired to score his film, A Nightmare on Elm Street (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 briefly talked to him about scoring the fourth film.
Use of his music Quentin Tarantino 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 (2009).Quentin Tarantino Discusses Charles Bernstein's Music on YouTube Various hip hop artists have sampled Bernstein’s film scores, such as Logic, who has used his music from Love at First Bite for his song Vinyl Days, as well as Drake & 21 Savage, who have used a choral sample of his music from Invasion of the Bee Girls for their song Rich Flex.
Other activities 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 and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Bernstein has been a long-serving member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1995. He is also in the Board of Directors for both the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and the Society of Composers & Lyricists. He co-founded the latter organization.
Personal life Bernstein is married to Georgianne Cowan. They have one daughter, Serina. They reside in Los Angeles.
Filmography Film YearTitleDirector1969StoneyWray Davis1970The Man from O.R.G.Y.James Hill1972Daddy's Deadly DarlingMarc LawrenceSweet KillCurtis Hanson1973Invasion of the Bee GirlsDenis SandersHexLeo GarenWhite LightningJoseph SargentThat Man BoltDavid Lowell RichHenry Levin1974Mr. MajestykRichard Fleischer1976The Zebra ForceJoe TornatoreTrackdownRichard T. HeffronA Small Town in TexasJack StarrettGatorBurt Reynolds1977Viva Knievel!Gordon DouglasOutlaw BluesRichard T. Heffron1979Love at First BiteStan Dragoti1980Coast to CoastJoseph SargentFoolin' AroundRichard T. Heffron1982The EntitySidney J. Furie1983Independence DayRobert MandelCujoLewis Teague1984A Nightmare on Elm StreetWes Craven1986Deadly FriendApril Fool's DayFred Walton1987The AllnighterTamar Simon HoffsDudesPenelope Spheeris1993Excessive ForceJon Hess1995Out of Annie's PastStuart CooperRumpelstiltskinMark Jones1997When Danger Follows You HomeDavid Peckinpah2007Fighting WordsE. Paul Edwards2008Shattered!Chris St. Croix2010Charlotta-TSLewis Teague2017Liza, Liza, Skies Are GreyTerry Sanders
Television
TV series Year Title Notes1977Special Treat Episode: "Five Finger Discount"1978Who's Watching the Kids? 21 episodes1987 CBS Schoolbreak Special Episode: "Little Miss Perfect"2000American Experience Episode: "Return with Honor"2002–06 Alejo & Valentina 52 episodes 2009 Nova Episode: "Darwin's Darkest Hour"
TV movies and miniseries Year Title 1975 A Shadow in the Streets1976 Look What's Happened to Rosemary's BabyNightmare in Badham County1977 Escape from Bogen CountyFour Against the Desert1978 Wild and WoolyThaddeus Rose and EddieCops and RobinSteel CowboyFast Lane BluesAre You in the House Alone?Katie: Portrait of a CenterfoldThe Winds of Kitty Hawk1979 Women at West PointThe House on Garibaldi Street1980BogieScruples1983Sadat1985 Secret WeaponsMalice in WonderlandGenerationCovenantThe Long Hot SummerChase 1986 Rockabye1987The Last FlingGhost of a ChanceThe Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains 1988 A Whisper Kills1989 Desperate for LoveLove and Betrayal1990Drug Wars: The Camarena StoryToo Young to Die?Fall from GraceCaroline?Ivory HuntersShe Said NoThe Love She Sought1991PayoffGuilty Until Proven InnocentLove, Lies and MurderYes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus1992 Drug Wars: The Cocaine CartelTrial: The Price of PassionSomebody's Daughter1993 Between Love and HateThe Sea WolfFinal Appeal 1994 My Name Is Kate1996 Sophie & the MoonhangerDead AheadBloodhounds II1997 Miss Evers' BoysThe Ticket1998 The HuntedThe Long Island Incident2000 PicnicEnslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble 2001 The Day the World Ended2002Crossing the LineA Christmas Visitor2003 Profoundly NormalOut of the Ashes 2004 Family Sins 2007 Sybil 2008 Sweet Nothing in My Ear 2015 Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf Documentary works YearTitleDirector1969Czechoslovakia 1968Denis SandersRobert M. Fresco1990Rose Kennedy: A Life to RememberTerry Sanders1994Maya Lin: A Strong Clear VisionFreida Lee Mock1999Return with HonorFreida Lee MockTerry Sanders2005After InnocenceJessica Sanders2007RefusenikLaura Bialis2014Jesus Town, USABillie MintzJulian T. Pinder2019Battlefield: Home: Breaking the SilenceAnita Sugimura Holsapple
Awards and nominations AwardYearCategoryWorkResultCableACE Award1989Best Original ScoreThe Man Who Broke 1,000 ChainsDaytime Emmy Award1987Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and CompositionCBS Schoolbreak Special Primetime Emmy Award1993Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or SpecialThe Sea Wolf2000Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble References
External links
Charles Bernstein on his work with Lewis Teague on YouTube