Charles Bernstein (composer)

Charles Bernstein (born February 28, 1943) (not to be confused with composer Charles Harold Bernstein, 1917-2016) is a composer of film and television music. His credits include the score for A Nightmare on Elm Street. He is a Daytime Emmy Award winner. He has also been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Bernstein was born in Minneapolis 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.

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 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 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.

...
Wikipedia