Bernard Herrmann:

September 10, 2002 11:43 PM

Bernard Herrmann: I've always loved Bernard Herrmann's music (symphonic or film) but I didn't know until this afternoon that he was responsible for the two most recognizable bars of music in the last 30 years: the theme for The Twilight Zone.
posted by realjanetkagan (8 comments total)

I think he wrote the more melodic, orchestral sounding theme that was used in the first season. The "do dee do do" theme was used from the second season on.
posted by Addlepated at 11:59 PM on September 10, 2002

That's a very nice site, thanks. I enjoyed his daughter's memories - a child's point of view on the glory days of Hollywood. Playing on the studio back lot sounds cool.
posted by crunchburger at 12:20 AM on September 11, 2002

This link is exactly the sort of thing I come to MeFi for: it's a site that has lots of information about someone I have a great deal of interest in, but just never bothered to find out anything substantial about on my own. Thanks so much for posting this!
posted by toddshot at 12:23 AM on September 11, 2002

I agree... I adore Herrmann. In fact, since you are such a big fan, you may enjoy the SIGNS soundtrack done by James Newton Howard. The opening music is so very Hitchcock!

((I would also recommend this film to anyone who has not yet seen it. REALLY a fun ride; scary, funny, touching... Not what you may expect.))
posted by FilmMaker at 12:38 AM on September 11, 2002

I loved Herrmann's "cameo" in The Man Who Knew Too Much -- a great, suspenseful sequence. Somewhat off-topic, but I've always wondered: are Herrmann and this man related? There is a weird resemblance.
posted by drinkcoffee at 5:18 AM on September 11, 2002

odd fact about the Twilight Zone Theme, it sounds almost exactly the same backwards as forewords. WEIRD!
posted by ShawnString at 6:06 AM on September 11, 2002

I'm a big Herrman fan myself. But sorry to put a damper on the party. Being a Twilight Zone fanboy, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the theme in question was written by Marius Constant. (Here's a cue sheet that shows where two Constant compositions, Estrange #3 and Milieu #2, fit into the Twilight Zone equation.)

As addlepated ntoed above, Herrman did write a theme for the first season, but this was later scrapped for the guitar-laden Constant theme that we all hum today.
posted by ed at 7:28 AM on September 11, 2002

Herrmann also did a great job with the score for the movie Psycho, but I'd bet that "the two most recognizable bars of music in the last 30 years" are the shark theme from Jaws. (Or however many bars long it is.)
posted by LeLiLo at 9:03 AM on September 12, 2002