Edward Bernds
| Edward Bernds | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
July 12, 1905 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | May 20, 2000 (aged 94) Van Nuys, California |
| Years active | 1929–1965 |
Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905 – May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois.
While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur licenses. In the early 1920s, there was considerable prestige for amateur operators to have commercial radio licenses, and Bernds was in a good position to enter broadcasting when he graduated in 1923, a year when radio stations began to be established all over Chicago. He found employment — at age 20 — as chief operator at Chicago's WENR.
When talking pictures began in the late 1920s, Bernds and broadcast operators like him relocated to Hollywood to work as sound technicians in "the talkies". After a brief period at United Artists, Bernds resigned and worked at Columbia Pictures, where he functioned as sound engineer on many of Frank Capra's classics in the 1930s. He soon established himself as Columbia's best recording technician.
Bernds wanted to be a director, but could not work up the nerve to approach Columbia president Harry Cohn about the reassignment. Frank Capra ran into Bernds one day, and made Bernds promise to talk with Cohn that evening. Cohn, although well aware of Bernds's prowess in the sound department, grudgingly granted Bernds's wish.
In 1945, Bernds became a screenwriter and director, first for the Three Stooges short subjects. His first effort with the team was the lackluster A Bird in the Head (1946), which featuring an ailing Curly Howard. The 41-year-old Howard had suffered a series of minor strokes prior to filming; as a result, his tired performances were marred by slurred speech and slower timing. Though Bernds was initially thrilled at being a director, he was horrified when he realized that Curly was in such bad shape (something Columbia short-subject head Jules White failed to tell Bernds). Years later, Bernds discussed his trying experience during the filming of A Bird in the Head:
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