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Bernard Herrmann (I) (1911–1975)

The man behind the low woodwinds that open Citizen Kane, the shrieking violins of Psycho, and the plaintive saxophone of Taxi Driver was one of the most original and distinctive composers ever to work in film. He started early, winning a composition prize at the age of 13 and founding his own orchestra at the age of 20... See full bio »

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Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations See more awards »

Known For


Filmography

Hide HideMusic Department (48 titles)
2012 The Clinic (short) (stock music)
 
2006 The Fear (El Miedo) (composer: stock music)
 
2000 'Rear Window' Ethics: Remembering and Restoring a Hitchcock Classic (video documentary) (additional music)
 
1999 Troldspejlet (TV series) (composer: stock music - 1 episode)
Troldspejlet special: Stop motion (1999) (composer: stock music)
 
1987 It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (composer: original "It's Alive" theme)
 
1978 Xenogenesis (short) (composer: stock music)
 
1976 Obsession (conductor - uncredited)
 
1976 Taxi Driver (musical director - uncredited)
 
1972 Endless Night (conductor)
 
1971 The Night Digger (conductor)
 
1969 Backtrack! (composer: stock music - uncredited)
 
1968 Twisted Nerve (composer: Georgie theme whistled version - uncredited, conductor - uncredited)
 
1968 Cimarron Strip (TV series) (conductor - 1 episode)
Knife in the Darkness (1968) (conductor)
 
1965-1967 Lost in Space (TV series) (composer: stock music - 8 episodes)
The Galaxy Gift (1967) (composer: stock music)
The Astral Traveller (1967) (composer: stock music - uncredited)
The Prisoners of Space (1966) (composer: stock music - uncredited)
War of the Robots (1966) (composer: stock music - uncredited)
Invaders from the Fifth Dimension (1965) (composer: stock music - uncredited)
 
1965 Rawhide (TV series) (conductor - 1 episode)
Encounter at Boot Hill (1965) (conductor)
 
Twilight Zone (TV series) (composer: theme music - 11 episodes, 1959-1960) (conductor - 7 episodes, 1959-1963) (composer: stock music / theme music - 5 episodes, 1959-1960)
Ninety Years Without Slumbering (1963) (conductor)
Living Doll (1963) (conductor)
Little Girl Lost (1962) (conductor)
Eye of the Beholder (1960) (conductor)
A World of Difference (1960) (composer: theme music - uncredited)
 
1963 Jason and the Argonauts (conductor: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, musical director - uncredited, orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1957-1963 Have Gun - Will Travel (TV series) (composer: theme music - 68 episodes)
Face of a Shadow (1963) (composer: theme music - uncredited)
The Lady of the Fifth Moon (1963) (composer: theme music - uncredited)
Genesis (1962) (composer: theme music - uncredited)
Gold and Brimstone (1959) (composer: theme music - uncredited)
The Haunted Trees (1959) (composer: theme music - uncredited)
 
1961 Mysterious Island (conductor: The London Symphony Orchestra, orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1960-1961 Hong Kong (TV series) (composer: stock music - 26 episodes)
The Runaway (1961) (composer: stock music)
The Innocent Exile (1961) (composer: stock music)
Love Honor and Perish (1961) (composer: stock music)
The Woman in Grey (1961) (composer: stock music)
Murder by Proxy (1961) (composer: stock music)
 
1961 Gunsmoke (TV series) (conductor - 2 episodes)
Kitty Shot (1961) (conductor)
Tall Trapper (1961) (conductor)
 
1960 The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (conductor: The London Symphony Orchestra, orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1959 North by Northwest (conductor - uncredited, music arranger - uncredited, orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1959 The Trap (composer: stock music - uncredited)
 
1958 The Naked and the Dead (conductor - uncredited)
 
1958 The Fiend Who Walked the West (composer: stock music - uncredited)
 
1958 Vertigo (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1958 Perry Mason (TV series) (composer: stock music - 1 episode)
The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife (1958) (composer: stock music - uncredited)
 
1957 A Hatful of Rain (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1956 G.E. True Theater (TV series) (conductor - 1 episode)
A Child Is Born (1956) (conductor)
 
1954 Shower of Stars (TV series) (conductor - 1 episode)
A Christmas Carol (1954) (conductor)
 
1954 Garden of Evil (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1953 King of the Khyber Rifles (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1953 Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1953 White Witch Doctor (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1952 The Snows of Kilimanjaro (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1952 5 Fingers (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1952 On Dangerous Ground (conductor - uncredited)
 
1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1950 Suspense (TV series) (composer: theme music - 1 episode)
The Brush Off (1950) (composer: theme music)
 
1947 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1946 Anna and the King of Siam (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1945 Hangover Square (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1944 The Falcon in Mexico (composer: stock music - uncredited)
 
1943 Jane Eyre (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1942 The Magnificent Ambersons (orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1941 The Devil and Daniel Webster (conductor, orchestrator - uncredited)
 
1941 Citizen Kane (conductor, orchestrator - uncredited)
 
Show ShowComposer (82 titles)
2008 Back to Room 666 (documentary short)
 
2007 Concerto Macabre: The Films of John Brahm (video documentary short)
 
2000 All About 'The Birds' (video documentary)
 
1998 Psycho
 
1997 Untitled (short) (uncredited)
 
1992 The Jewel of Death (short)
 
1991 Cape Fear
 
1978 It Lives Again
 
1976 Obsession
 
1976 Taxi Driver
 
1974 It's Alive
 
1973 Sisters
 
1972 Endless Night
 
1965-1969 The Virginian (TV series)
The Reckoning (1967)
Show Me a Hero (1965)
Nobility of Kings (1965)
 
1968 Twisted Nerve
 
1968 Companions in Nightmare (TV movie)
 
1968 Cimarron Strip (TV series)
 
1966 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (TV series)
Nightmare (1966)
 
1966 Fahrenheit 451
 
1965 Rawhide (TV series)
The Pursuit (1965)
 
1965 Convoy (TV series)
 
1963-1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV series)
Death Scene (1965)
Wally the Beard (1965)
An Unlocked Window (1965)
Consider Her Ways (1964)
 
1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre (TV series)
A Lion Amongst Men (1964)
 
1964 Marnie
 
1959-1963 Twilight Zone (TV series)
Living Doll (1963)
Little Girl Lost (1962)
Eye of the Beholder (1960)
The Lonely (1959)
 
1963 The Great Adventure (TV series)
 
1962 Cape Fear
 
1961 Gunsmoke (TV series)
Harriet (1961)
Kitty Shot (1961)
Tall Trapper (1961)
 
1961 The Americans (TV series)
 
1960 Psycho
 
1959 Blue Denim
 
1959 For Better or Worse (TV series)
 
1958 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (TV series)
 
1958 Vertigo
 
1958 Pursuit (TV series)
 
1958 Collector's Item (TV movie) (uncredited)
 
1957 Have Gun - Will Travel (TV series)
Three Bells to Perdido (1957) (as Bernard Hermann)
 
1957 Playhouse 90 (TV series)
Without Incident (1957)
 
1955-1956 G.E. True Theater (TV series)
A Child Is Born (1956)
A Child Is Born (1955)
 
1956 The Wrong Man
 
1956 Landmark (TV movie)
 
1955 The Kentuckian
 
1954 Shower of Stars (TV series)
A Christmas Carol (1954)
 
1954 Climax! (TV series)
 
1954 The Lineup (TV series)
 
1954 The Egyptian
 
1954 Garden of Evil
 
1952 5 Fingers
 
1948 Studio One in Hollywood (TV series)
 
1945 Hangover Square
 
1943 Jane Eyre
 
1942 The Magnificent Ambersons (uncredited)
 
1941 Citizen Kane
 
Show ShowSoundtrack (75 titles)
2012 Hollywood in Vienna 2012 (TV special) (music: "Psycho")
 
2012 Not Fade Away (writer: "Finale")
 
2010-2012 Atop the Fourth Wall (TV series)
Superman #701 (2012) (performer: "The Bathroom; The Murder; The Body; The Office; The Curtain; The Water; The Car; The Swamp;")
Sultry Teenage Super-Foxes #2 (2010) ("Murder")
 
2012 The Nostalgia Critic (TV series)
Ri¢hie Ri¢h (2012) (music: "North By Northwest Theme" - uncredited)
 
2011 The Simpsons (TV series)
Treehouse of Horror XXII (2011) (writer: "Flight")
 
2011 Dancing with the Stars (TV series)
Round Four (2011) (music: "Theme from Psycho")
 
2011 BBC Proms (TV series)
Prom 38: Film Music Night (2011) (writer: "Prelude to The Man Who Knew Too Much", "Overture to Citizen Kane", "Psycho Suite")
 
2011 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (TV series)
Episode #19.200 (2011) (writer: "Prelude from 'Vertigo'" - uncredited)
 
2011/I The Artist ("Love Scene")
 
2010 Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (writer: "Psycho Theme")
 
2010 South by Southeast (short) (music: "North by Northwest")
 
2009 A Single Man (writer: "Scène d'Amour")
 
2009 Capitalism: A Love Story (documentary) (writer: "Vertigo Prelude")
 
2009 Hotel for Dogs (writer: "The Murder")
 
2008 Yes Man (writer: "Journey to the Center of the Earth")
 
2008 Australia (writer: "Prelude" from tt0038303, "Time Passage" from tt0036969)
 
2008 Drillbit Taylor (writer: "The Panic" / as Bernard Hermann)
 
2007 The Key to Reserva (short) (writer: "Music")
 
2007 Willkommen Österreich (TV series)
Episode #1.4 (2007) (writer: "The Murder" - uncredited)
 
2007 Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series (TV series)
The Rebexorcist (2007) (writer: "Theme from Psycho" - uncredited / performer: "Theme from Psycho" - uncredited)
 
2007 Death Proof (writer: "Introduction" / performer: "Introduction")
 
2006 Arthur and the Invisibles (performer: "Rosalie")
 
2006 The Sopranos (TV series)
Kaisha (2006) (writer: "Prelude Main Titles" - uncredited / music: "Prelude Main Titles" - uncredited)
 
2006 Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (documentary) (writer: "Final", "Overture")
 
2005 Movie Boy (writer: "The Killing")
 
2003 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (writer: "Twisted Nerve" / performer: "Twisted Nerve")
 
2003 Wonderland (writer: "I Work the Whole City" 1976)
 
2003 Koi... Mil Gaya (writer: "Music" - uncredited)
 
2003 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (writer: "Cape Fear", "Scene D'Amour"/"The Nightmare")
 
2003 Finding Nemo (writer: "Psycho The Murder" 1960)
 
2003 Daddy Day Care (writer: "The Knife")
 
2002 Jackass: The Movie (documentary) ("The Murder")
 
2002 Stuart Little 2 (writer: "The Beach from Vertigo")
 
2002 Livshunger (TV series)
Episode #1.6 (2002) (music: "ALL THE ANIMALS COME OUT AT NIGHT")
 
2001 The Majestic (writer: "Klaatu", "Gort", "The Visor" / performer: "Klaatu", "Gort", "The Visor")
 
2000 Columbo (TV series)
Murder with Too Many Notes (2000) (music: "The Murder from Psycho")
 
1999 RKO 281 (TV movie) (music: "Finale")
 
1998-1999 Lukas (TV series)
Lukas im Hummerland (1999) (writer: "Theme from Psycho" - uncredited)
Mann und Maus (1998) (writer: "Theme from Psycho" - uncredited)
 
1999 Strange Planet (writer: Original Soundtrack)
 
1999 Drive Me Crazy (writer: "Duo")
 
1998 Seinfeld (TV series)
The Bookstore (1998) (music: "Theme From Cape Fear" - uncredited)
 
1997 Contact (music: "The Twilight Zone" - uncredited)
 
1996 Kingpin (writer: "Sound Byte")
 
1995 The Epic of Detective Mandy: Book Four - Spoof of the Living Dead II (TV movie) (writer: "Max", "Sam's Story", "Love?", "Strip Search", "Rape and Hospital", "Kersek Killed", "Houseboat", "The Fight", "The End")
 
1995 Twelve Monkeys (writer: "Vertigo Theme" 1958)
 
1995 Lumière and Company (documentary) ("Pas de printemps pour Marnie")
 
1994 Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (documentary) (writer: "The Day the Earth Stood Still")
 
1994 100 Years at the Movies (TV documentary short) (writer: "Citizen Kane: Snow Picture" - uncredited)
 
1993 Kika (writer: "The Car Lot, the Package" fragment from "Suite from Psycho")
 
1993 Coneheads ("The Lincoln Memorial")
 
1992 Wayne's World ("THE MURDER")
 
1992 Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann (documentary) (writer: "Taxi Driver", "Citizen Kane", "On Dangerous Ground", "North by Northwest", "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir", "The Man Who Knew Too Much", "Psycho", "Cape Fear", "Torn Curtain", "The Bride Wore Black", "Sisters", "Jane Eyre", "Psycho-A Narrative for Orchestra" / "North by Northwest", "Vertigo Suite")
 
1991 Palm Harbor Vice (writer: "The Murder" from tt0054215 / performer: "The Murder" from tt0054215 )
 
1991 Mystery Science Theater 3000 (TV series)
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1991) (writer: "Have Gun - Will Travel Theme")
 
1990 Paint It Black (writer: "FANFARE FOR 'TORN CURTAIN'")
 
1986-1988 Moonlighting (TV series)
Between a Yuk and a Hard Place (1988) (writer: "On the Rocks" - uncredited)
Funeral for a Door Nail (1986) (writer: "Psycho The Murder")
 
1987 Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (writer: "The Murder" / performer: "The Murder")
 
1987 Citizen Steve (documentary short) (writer: "Citizen Kane" / performer: "Citizen Kane")
 
1986 Precious Images (documentary short) (writer: "Theme")
 
1984 Knight Rider (TV series)
Halloween Knight (1984) (writer: "Psycho The Murder")
 
1981 Beauty (writer: "Love Music" - uncredited)
 
1980 The Benny Hill Show (TV series)
Name That Tune (1980) (writer: "Psycho The Murder" / performer: "Psycho The Murder")
 
1979 More Than Sisters (writer: "Music" - uncredited)
 
1979 Thriller (short) (music: "Psycho")
 
1978 Blue Heat (writer: Music from the tt0054215 soundtrack - uncredited)
 
1977 Mary! Mary! (writer: "Excerpts" - uncredited)
 
1976 Taxi Driver (music: "HOLD ME CLOSE")
 
1975 Secret Desire (writer: "Music from tt0054215 soundtrack" - uncredited)
 
1973 Hitler's Harlot (writer: "Themes from The Day the Earth Stood Still" - uncredited)
 
1960 Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (TV series)
Episode dated 7 December 1960 (1960) (writer: "Have Gun, Will Travel" - uncredited)
 
1959 Twilight Zone (TV series)
 
1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much (performer: "Storm Cloud Cantata" 1934)
 
1948 Portrait of Jennie (music: "Jennie's Song" - uncredited)
 
1945 Hangover Square (writer: "Concerto Macabre" - uncredited / music: "Gay Love" - uncredited)
 
1941 Citizen Kane (music: "Aria from Salammbo" 1941 - uncredited)
 
Show ShowSound Department (1 title)
1963 The Birds (sound consultant, sound designer - uncredited)
 
Show ShowActor (1 title)
1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much
Conductor/Himself (uncredited)
 
Show ShowThanks (4 titles)
2008 Dusty (short) (special thanks)
 
1976 God Told Me To (dedicated to the memory of - as Mr. Bernard Herrmann)
 
1976 Taxi Driver (our gratitude and respect to: June 29, 1911 - December 24, 1975)
 
1948 Portrait of Jennie (grateful acknowledgment)
 
Show ShowSelf (2 titles)
1992 Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann (documentary)
Himself
 
1964 Telescope (TV series documentary)
Himself
A Talk with Hitchcock (1964) … Himself
 
Show ShowArchive Footage (4 titles)
2004 20th Century Greats (TV mini-series documentary)
Himself
 
2003 The Music of 'Fahrenheit 451' (video documentary short)
Himself
 
2000 The Trouble with Marnie (TV documentary)
Himself
 
2000 The Making of 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' (video documentary short)
Himself
 

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Personal Details

Other Works:

CBS Radio: Suspense, 23 September 1942, "A Passage to Benares" (music) See more »

Publicity Listings:

2 Biographical Movies  | 2 Print Biographies  | 1 Article  | See more »

Official Sites:

The Bernard Herrmann Estate | See more »

Alternate Names:

Bernard Hermann | Mr. Bernard Herrmann

Height:

5' 8" (1.73 m)
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Did You Know?

Personal Quote:

[Good film music] ...can invest a scene with terror, grandeur, gaiety or misery ... propel narrative swiftly forward, or slow it down. See more »

Trivia:

Composed the original opening theme for The Twilight Zone. Near the end of the first season, it was replaced by the more familiar theme composed by Marius Constant. See more »

Nickname:

Benny See more »

Star Sign:

Cancer