Biography

Born in the Bronx, New York, William Bernstein graduated from New York University with a BA, before moving on to Yale Law School.

After completing his studies at Yale, Bernstein joined United Artists in 1959 in their motion picture legal department, Bernstein rose through the ranks, ultimately serving as Senior Executive Vice President. During his time at United Artists, Bernstein was involved in the negotiation and acquisition of the rights to the "James Bond" franchise, the financing and distribution of the "Rocky" franchise, as well as other successful and critically acclaimed films, such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", the "Pink Panther" and "Midnight Cowboy."

In 1978, Bernstein, along with four other executives from United Artists, Arthur Krim, Eric Pleskow, Mike Medavoy and Robert Benjamin, departed United Artists to found Orion Pictures, Bernstein was an executive vice president during the time the company distributed such pictures as Amadeus", "Platoon", "Dances with Wolves" and "The Silence of the Lambs", all of which won Academy Awards for Best Picture. Dances with Wolves won seven Academy Awards, and The Silence of the Lambs won all five major Academy Awards (a feat that has only occurred three times in history).

By early 1992, Bernstein, who was president and chief executive of Orion at that point, departed the studio to become executive vice president of Paramount, working closely with then studio head Sherry Lansing for more than 10 years, during which time he was involved in negotiations relating to the development and production of such movies as Titanic, Braveheart, and Forest Gump.

Bernstein died on October 8, 2020, at the age of 87.
- IMDb mini biography by: F.J. Trescothik