Bernard Herrmann Biography (1911-1975)

Born June 29, 1911, in New York, NY; died December 24, 1975, in New York, NY;married Lucille Fletcher (a writer), 1939 (divorced). Education: Attended New York University and Juilliard Graduate School of Music. Career: Composer, conductor, sound consultant, and actor. New Chamber Orchestra, organizer, 1931; CBS, conductor and composer, 1934-59, CBS Symphony Orchestra, chiefconductor, 1940-59. Awards, Honors: Academy Award, best score, 1941, for The Devil and Daniel Webster; Academy Award nomination, best score,1941, for Citizen Kane; Academy Award nomination, best score, 1946, for Anna and the King of Siam; Emmy Award nomination, best original music composed for television, 1955, for "A Christmas Carol," Shower of Stars; Academy Award nomination, best score, 1976, for Obsession; Academy Award nomination, best score, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award,best music, 1976, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, British Academy Awards, 1977, all for Taxi Driver..

Nationality
American
Gender
Male
Occupation
Composer, conductor, sound consultant, actor
Birth Details
June 29, 1911
New York, New York, United States
Death Details
December 24, 1975
New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

  • CREDITS
  • Film Appearances
  • Himself (as conductor), The Man Who Knew Too Much,1956
  • Himself (archive footage), Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann,1992
  • Film Work
  • (Uncredited) Conductor, Citizen Kane,1941
  • Conductor, The Devil and Daniel Webster(also known as All ThatMoney Can Buy, A Certain Mr. Scratch, Daniel and the Devil, and Here Is a Man), 1941
  • Sound consultant, The Birds,1963
  • RECORDINGS
  • Albums
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fox, 1951
  • Bernard Herrmann, Decca, 1975
  • The Mysterious Film World of Psycho, Unicorn, 1975
  • Sisters, Entr'acte, 1975
  • Taxi Driver, Varese Saraban, 1976
  • Torn Curtain, Warner Bros., 1978
  • North by Northwest, Varese Saraban, 1980
  • Psycho, Unicorn, 1989
  • Vertigo, Mercury, 1990
  • Symphony #1, Koch, 1992
  • Wuthering Heights, Unicorn-Kancha, 1992
  • Echoes String Quartet, Unicorn-Kancha, 1994
  • The Paradine Case, Koch, 1995
  • Marvelous Film World of Bernard Herrmann, Tsunami, 1996
  • The Four Faces of Jazz, Mobile Fidelit, 1996
  • Suites from Psycho & North by Northwest, Unicorn, 1996
  • Also recorded Film Scores, Milan; Film Scores, Sony Classical.
  • WRITINGS
  • Film Scores
  • The Devil and Daniel Webster(also known as All That Money Can Buy, A Certain Mr. Scratch, Daniel and the Devil, and Here Is a Man), 1941
  • Citizen Kane,1941
  • (Uncredited) Magnificent Ambersons,1942
  • Jane Eyre,1944
  • Hangover Square,1945
  • Anna and the King of Siam,1946
  • The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,1947
  • Portrait of Jennie(also known as Tidal Wave), 1948
  • On Dangerous Ground,1951
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still,1951
  • The Snows of Kilimanjaro,1952
  • 5 Fingers(also known as Five Fingers and Operation Cicero), 1952
  • White Witch Doctor,1953
  • King of the Khyber Rifles,1953
  • Beneath the 12-Mile Reef,1953
  • Garden of Evil,1954
  • The Egyptian,1954
  • Prince of Players,1955
  • The Kentuckian,1955
  • The Trouble with Harry,1955
  • Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot(short), 1956
  • The Man Who Knew Too Much,1956
  • The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit,1956
  • The Wrong Man,1956
  • A Hatful of Rain,1957
  • Vertigo,1958
  • The Naked and the Dead,1958
  • The Fiend Who Walked the West,1958
  • The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad,1958
  • Journey to the Center of the Earth(also known as Trip to the Center of the Earth), 1959
  • Blue Denim(also known as Blue Jeans), 1959
  • North by Northwest,1959
  • The 3 Worlds of Gulliver(also known as The Worlds of Gulliver), 1960
  • Psycho,1960
  • Jules Verne's Mysterious Island(also known as Mysterious Island), 1961
  • Tender Is the Night,1962
  • Cape Fear,1962
  • Jason and the Argonauts(also known as Jason and the Golden Fleece), 1963
  • Marnie,1964
  • Joy in the Morning,1965
  • Fahrenheit 451,1966
  • La mariee etait en noir(also known as The Bride Wore Blackand La Sposa in nero), 1967
  • Twisted Nerve,1968
  • Obsessions,1969
  • Bitka na Neretvi(also known as The Battle of Neretva, La Battaglia della Neretva, Battle of the River Neretva, and Die Schlacht an der Neretva), 1969
  • The Night Digger(also known as The Road Builder), 1971
  • Agatha Christie's Endless Night(also known as Endless Night), 1971
  • Sisters(also known as Blood Sisters), 1973
  • It's Alive,1974
  • Taxi Driver,1976
  • Obsession,1976
  • It Lives Again(also known as It's Alive II), 1978
  • Psycho II(also known as Psycose 2), 1983
  • It's Alive III: Island of Alive,1987
  • Cape Fear,1991
  • Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann,1992
  • Kika,1993
  • Reality Bites,1994
  • Twelve Monkeys(also known as 12 Monkeys), 1995
  • Psycho,1998
  • Television Scores
  • Movies
  • The Ethan Allen Story,1956
  • Companions in Nightmare,1967
  • Chambre 666,1982
  • Psycho IV: The Beginning,1991
  • Also scored The Restauration.
  • Television Scores, Except Where Indicated
  • Series
  • Studio One(also known as Studio One Summer Theatre, Studio Onein Hollywood, Summer Theatre, Westinghouse Studio One, and Westinghouse Summer Theatre), 1948
  • The Lineup(also known as San Francisco Beat), 1954
  • Climax!,1954
  • Playhouse 90,1956
  • And theme, Perry Mason,1957
  • Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse(also known as Desilu Playhouse), 1958
  • Pursuit,1958
  • And theme, The House on K Street,1959
  • Theme, The Twilight Zone,1959
  • The Americans,1961
  • And theme, Convoy,1965
  • Lost in Space,1965
  • Also scored Landmark; and Forecast.
  • Television Scores
  • Episodic
  • "A Christmas Carol," Shower of Stars(also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars), 1954
  • "A Child is Born," General Electric Theater(also known as G.E.Theatre), 1955
  • "Harriet," Gunsmoke(also known as Marshall Dillon), 1955
  • "The Tall Trapper," Gunsmoke(also known as Marshall Dillon), 1955
  • "Kitty Shot," Gunsmoke(also known as Marshall Dillon), 1955
  • "Three Bells to Perdido," Have Gun Will Travel,1957
  • The Twilight Zone,1959
  • "Hammer Fist," The House on K Street(pilot), 1959
  • "Cave of the Dead," Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,1959
  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,1962
  • "The Last Grave at Socorro Creek," The Virginian(also known as The Men from Shiloh), 1962
  • Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre(also known as The Chrysler Theater and Universal Star Time), 1963
  • "The Secret," The Great Adventure,1963
  • "Nathan Hale," The Great Adventure,1963
  • "A Lion Amongst Men," Kraft Suspense Theatre,1963
  • "Pursuit," Rawhide,1965
  • "Knife in the Darkness," Cimarron Strip,1967
  • Also scored several episodes of Convoy; Collector's Item(pilot).
  • Radio Scores
  • War of the Worlds,1938
  • A Passage to Benares, CBS Radio, 1942
  • Stage Scores
  • (Ballets) Americana, Broadway production, New York City, 1932

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

    Books:
    • Bruce, Graham, Bernard Herrmann: Film Music and Narrative, Ann Arbor, MI, 1985.
    • Smith, Stephen C. A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music ofBernard Herrmann, Berkeley, CA, 1991.
    • International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers: Writers and Production Artists, St. James Press, 1993, pp. 369-71.
    • Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music, volume 14, 1995, pp. 103-06.