Bernard B. Brown
{{Short description|American sound engineer and composer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| name = Bernard B. Brown
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1898|7|24}}
| birth_place = La Farge, Wisconsin, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1981|2|20|1898|7|24}}
| death_place = Glendale, California, U.S.
| occupation = Sound engineer
| yearsactive = 1930-1958
}}
Bernard B. Brown (July 24, 1898 – February 20, 1981) was an American sound engineer and composer. Mostly known for Working for the Looney Tunes. He wrote the scores for many early animated cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures. He won an Academy Award in the category Sound Recording and was nominated for seven more in the same category. He was also nominated three times in the category Best Visual Effects. He worked on more than 520 films between 1930 and 1958.
Composer
In 1933, animation producer Leon Schlesinger set up his new animation studio: Leon Schlesinger Productions. The company would later be known as Warner Bros. Cartoons. Schlesinger had to hire new staff for his studio. According to animation historian Michael Barrier, Schlesinger "knew almost nothing about making cartoons" and took help wherever he could find it.Barrier (2003), Warner Bros., pp. unnumbered pages Among his new employees was Bernard Brown, who was in charge of recording sound and scores for the studio's films. According to a later interview with Brown, he worked on animated short films in addition to his regular work. This "regular work" was recording film scores for the feature films of the Warner Bros. studio. Brown would reportedly spend many hours working on the score of a big production, and then return to work on the score of a cartoon.
Barrier credits Brown with having the useful ability to approach people in power ("big shots") with the right mixture of deference and ease. This made these people more comfortable with turning to him for help, even beyond the scope of his nominal expertise. Studio associate Bob Clampett described Brown as having the ability to ooze in any hole that needed filling. Brown was supposedly responsible for Schlesinger hiring two of his friends, animator Tom Palmer and songwriter Norman Spencer.
Tom Palmer was briefly the main director of the studio, but left after completing only two films. His replacement Earl Duvall left after completing only five films. Schlesinger was in need of new directors, and even Brown received credits for directing two Merrie Melodies shorts. According to Barrier, Brown was "no artist" and had no previous experience directing or animating films. The films in question were Pettin' in the Park (1934) and Those Were Wonderful Days (1934).
Bernard Brown and Norman Spencer were responsible for the sound effects and the music of most animated films of the Schlesinger studio for a few years. Brown eventually left, in order to start a new job as head of the sound department at Universal Studios. He was replaced in his responsibilities as sound editor by Treg Brown.
Selected filmography
Brown won an Academy Award and was nominated for seven more in the category Best Sound:
;Won
- When Tomorrow Comes (1939){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1940 |title=The 12th Academy Awards (1940) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 11, 2011|work=oscars.org}}
;Nominated (Best Sound)
- That Certain Age (1938){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1939 |title=The 11th Academy Awards (1939) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 10, 2011|work=oscars.org}}
- Spring Parade (1940){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1941 |title=The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 13, 2011|work=oscars.org}}
- Appointment for Love (1941){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1942 |title=The 14th Academy Awards (1942) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 13, 2011|work=oscars.org}}
- Arabian Nights (1942){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1943 |title=The 15th Academy Awards (1943) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 13, 2011|work=oscars.org}}
- Phantom of the Opera (1943){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944 |title=The 16th Academy Awards (1944) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 14, 2011|work=oscars.org}}
- His Butler's Sister (1943){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1945 |title=The 17th Academy Awards (1945) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 15, 2011|work=oscars.org}}
- Lady on a Train (1945){{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1946 |title=The 18th Academy Awards (1946) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 16, 2011|work=oscars.org}}
;Nominated (Best Visual Effects)
- The Boys from Syracuse (1940)
- The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
- Invisible Agent (1942)
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{citation | last1=Barrier | first1=Michael | title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age | chapter= Warner Bros., 1933-1940| year=2003 | publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn= 978-0199839223| chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=xt5k08yuAXIC&q=Nightmare&pg=PT656}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0113094}}
{{Academy Award Best Sound}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Bernard B.}}
Category:20th-century American composers
Category:Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners
Category:American audio engineers
Category:American film score composers
Category:American animated film directors
Category:Best Sound Mixing Academy Award winners
Category:Film directors from Wisconsin
Category:Musicians from Wisconsin
Category:People from Vernon County, Wisconsin