Elmer Bernstein was a legendary Hollywood composer who composed landmark scores in every genre, from epics to jazz to westerns to dramas to comedies. This biography, written by his son Peter, includes exclusive interviews, oral histories, estate archival materials, and personal experiences, and looks at many of his landmark scores in depth, his collaborations with various producers and directors, and his success in navigating the rough and tumble of Hollywood.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 15 November 2023
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Consider this new book the standard Bernstein biography.

A behind-the-scenes look at the life and music of legendary Hollywood composer Elmer Bernstein, the only person to be nominated for an Academy Award in every decade from the 1950s to the 2000s. Over a career spanning 54 years, he composed landmark scores in every available genre—epics, jazz, westerns, dramas, and comedies—and his credits read like a list of the greatest films of his time: The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Man With the Golden Arm, The Great Escape, Ghostbusters, to name just a few. This biography, written by Elmer's son Peter, interweaves exclusive interviews, oral histories not otherwise available, estate archival materials, and personal experiences. Elmer Bernstein lived a colorful life: he was a first-generation American; he was blacklisted; and he was a fearless advocate for film music not afraid to take on anyone in pages of trade papers. The book looks at many of his landmark scores in depth, collaborations with various producers and directors, and his success in navigating the rough and tumble of Hollywood. There is much to his story: a cycle of struggle, success, frustration, failure, and reinvention repeated many times over his career which connected the Old Hollywood with the modern era.

Weight: 572g
Dimension: 160 x 237 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781538183571