# Charles Bernstein (composer)

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. (d. 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.

## 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."
His first Hollywood score 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 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 (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 films, Cante Jondo (2007) and Charlotta-TS (2010).

### 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 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 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). 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.

## Personal life

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

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1969 | Stoney | Wray Davis | |
| 1969 | Czechoslovakia 1968 | Denis Sanders Robert M. Fresco | Documentary film |
| 1970 | The Man from O.R.G.Y. | James Hill | |
| 1972 | Daddy's Deadly Darling | Marc Lawrence | |
| 1972 | Sweet Kill | Curtis Hanson | |
| 1973 | Invasion of the Bee Girls | Denis Sanders | |
| 1973 | Hex | Leo Garen | |
| 1973 | White Lightning | Joseph Sargent | |
| 1973 | That Man Bolt | David Lowell Rich Henry Levin | |
| 1974 | Mr. Majestyk | Richard Fleischer | |
| 1976 | The Zebra Force | Joe Tornatore | |
| 1976 | Trackdown | Richard T. Heffron | |
| 1976 | A Small Town in Texas | Jack Starrett | |
| 1976 | Gator | Burt Reynolds | |
| 1977 | Viva Knievel! | Gordon Douglas | |
| 1977 | Outlaw Blues | Richard T. Heffron | |
| 1979 | Love at First Bite | Stan Dragoti | |
| 1980 | Coast to Coast | Joseph Sargent | |
| 1980 | Foolin' Around | Richard T. Heffron | |
| 1982 | The Entity | Sidney J. Furie | Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Music |
| 1983 | Independence Day | Robert Mandel | |
| 1983 | Cujo | Lewis Teague | |
| 1984 | A Nightmare on Elm Street | Wes Craven | |
| 1986 | Deadly Friend | Wes Craven | |
| 1986 | April Fool's Day | Fred Walton | |
| 1987 | The Allnighter | Tamar Simon Hoffs | |
| 1987 | Dudes | Penelope Spheeris | |
| 1990 | Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember | Terry Sanders | Documentary film |
| 1993 | Excessive Force | Jon Hess | |
| 1994 | Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision | Freida Lee Mock | Documentary film |
| 1995 | Out of Annie's Past | Stuart Cooper | |
| 1995 | Rumpelstiltskin | Mark Jones | |
| 1997 | When Danger Follows You Home | David Peckinpah | |
| 1999 | Return with Honor | Freida Lee Mock Terry Sanders | Documentary film |
| 2005 | After Innocence | Jessica Sanders | Documentary film |
| 2007 | Refusenik | Laura Bialis | Documentary film |
| 2007 | Fighting Words | E. Paul Edwards | |
| 2008 | Shattered! | Chris St. Croix | |
| 2010 | Charlotta-TS | Lewis Teague | |
| 2014 | Jesus Town, USA | Billie Mintz Julian T. Pinder | Documentary film |
| 2017 | Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey | Terry Sanders | |
| 2019 | Battlefield: Home: Breaking the Silence | Anita Sugimura Holsapple | Documentary film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1977 | Special Treat | Episode: "Five Finger Discount" |
| 1978 | Who's Watching the Kids? | 21 episodes |
| 1980 | Scruples | Miniseries |
| 1983 | Sadat | Miniseries |
| 1987 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Episode: "Little Miss Perfect" Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction and Compositions |
| 1990 | Drug Wars: The Camarena Story | Miniseries |
| 1991 | Love, Lies and Murder | Miniseries |
| 2000 | American Experience | Episode: "Return with Honor" |
| 2002–06 | Alejo & Valentina | 52 episodes |
| 2009 | Nova | Episode: "Darwin's Darkest Hour" |

#### TV movies

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1975 | A Shadow in the Streets | |
| 1976 | Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby | |
| 1976 | Nightmare in Badham County | |
| 1977 | Escape from Bogen County | |
| 1977 | Four Against the Desert | |
| 1978 | Wild and Wooly | |
| 1978 | Thaddeus Rose and Eddie | |
| 1978 | Cops and Robin | |
| 1978 | Steel Cowboy | |
| 1978 | Fast Lane Blues | |
| 1978 | Are You in the House Alone? | |
| 1978 | Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold | |
| 1978 | The Winds of Kitty Hawk | |
| 1979 | Women at West Point | |
| 1979 | The House on Garibaldi Street | |
| 1980 | Bogie | |
| 1985 | Secret Weapons | |
| 1985 | Malice in Wonderland | |
| 1985 | Generation | |
| 1985 | Covenant | |
| 1985 | The Long Hot Summer | |
| 1985 | Chase | |
| 1986 | Rockabye | |
| 1987 | The Last Fling | |
| 1987 | Ghost of a Chance | |
| 1987 | The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains | Nominated- CableACE Award for Best Original Score in a Movie |
| 1988 | A Whisper Kills | |
| 1989 | Desperate for Love | |
| 1989 | Love and Betrayal | |
| 1990 | Too Young to Die? | |
| 1990 | Fall from Grace | |
| 1990 | Caroline? | |
| 1990 | Ivory Hunters | |
| 1990 | She Said No | |
| 1990 | The Love She Sought | |
| 1991 | Payoff | |
| 1991 | Guilty Until Proven Innocent | |
| 1991 | Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus | |
| 1992 | Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel | |
| 1992 | Trial: The Price of Passion | |
| 1992 | Somebody's Daughter | |
| 1993 | Between Love and Hate | |
| 1993 | The Sea Wolf | Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or Special |
| 1993 | Final Appeal | |
| 1994 | My Name Is Kate | |
| 1996 | Sophie & the Moonhanger | |
| 1996 | Dead Ahead | |
| 1996 | Bloodhounds II | |
| 1997 | Miss Evers' Boys | |
| 1997 | The Ticket | |
| 1998 | The Hunted | |
| 1998 | The Long Island Incident | |
| 2000 | Picnic | |
| 2000 | Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble | Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or Special |
| 2001 | The Day the World Ended | |
| 2002 | Crossing the Line | |
| 2002 | A Christmas Visitor | |
| 2003 | Profoundly Normal | |
| 2003 | Out of the Ashes | |
| 2004 | Family Sins | |
| 2007 | Sybil | |
| 2008 | Sweet Nothing in My Ear | |
| 2015 | Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf | |