Elmer Bernstein Dies

Elmer Bernstein's first foray into the world of movie scores was American football flick Saturday Hero back in 1951. Having moved to Hollywood from his home in New York a year previously, Bernstein's first score was to be the first of many hits, 14 of which wouild bring him Academy Award nominations and one, Thoroughly Modern Millie, would see him take home the coveted golden statuette. But among his many outstanding works it is for his scores to The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven that Burnstein will be best remembered. Transcending their purpose on the screen, both themes became inextricably entwined in popular culture, cropping up in everything from commercials to countless subsequent films and still heard whitstled by the average Joe on the street. "It's one thing to write music that reinforces a film, underscores it... or gives it added dramatic muscle," said Martin Scorsese of the composer. "It's entirely another to write music that graces a film. That's what Elmer Bernstein does, and that, for me, is his greatest gift." Bernstein's health had been declining over the last few years and he died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday.