April 4 would have been the 100th birthday of Elmer Bernstein. Over a career that spanned some 50 years, Bernstein scored dozens of film and television projects, many of them now classics.
This week on “Picture Perfect,” sample his versatility with selections from just a few of them, including “The Magnificent Seven” (1960), “The Age of Innocence” (1993), “Stripes” (1981), and “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962).
In all, Bernstein was nominated for 14 Academy Awards, but claimed the Oscar only once, fairly early on, for his work on “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (1967), of all things. His final nomination was for his very last score, for “Far from Heaven” (2002). Bernstein died on August 18, 2004 at the age of 82.
Elmer will have you glued to the radio, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
PLEASE NOTE: If you were hoping to hear some of Bernstein’s music for “The Ten Commandments” (1956), tune in next week, as we anticipate Passover with selections from Biblical epics from the Old Testament!

Leave a Reply