Marilyn Bergman dead at 93 – Oscar-winning songwriter who teamed up with husband Alan Bergman on ‘The Way We Were’ dies
OSCAR-WINNING lyricist, Marilyn Bergman, died at her home in Los Angeles on Saturday. She was 93.
A representative for Bergman, Jason Lee, said she died of respiratory failure that wasn’t related to Covid-19. Her husband, Alan Bergman, was by her side.
The couple, who married in 1958, are best known for their songs The Way We Are, How Do You Keep the Music Playing? and hundreds of others.
They are considered one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in film and television, working with iconic composers including Marvin Hamlisch, Cy Coleman and Michael Legrand.
Their songs were covered by world-famous singers such as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson.
“If one really is serious about wanting to write songs that are original, that really speak to people, you have to feel like you create something that wasn’t there before—which is the ultimate accomplishment, isn’t it?” Bergman said to the Huffington Post in 2013.
“And to make something that wasn't there before, you have to know what came before you.”
The duo’s resume includes the Streisand-Neil Diamond duet You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, Sinatra’s Nice ’n’ Easy and Dean Martin’s Sleep Warm.
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They also wrote theme songs to sitcoms including Maude and Good Times as well as collaborated music for the 1978 Broadway show Ballroom.
Their work was best known for appearing in films such as Tootsie, The Thomas Crown affair and Best Friends. However, their most iconic song was The Way We were from Streisand and Robert Redford.
The couple won three Oscars and received 16 nominations. They also have two Grammys, four Emmys and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
TRIBUTES
Famed composer Quincy Jones sent his condolences after the news of Bergman’s death. “You, along with your beloved Alan, were the epitome of Nadia Boulanger’s belief that ‘an artist can never be more or less than they are as a human being,” he wrote on Twitter.
“To those of us who loved the Bergmans’ lyrics, Marilyn takes a bit of our hearts and souls with her today,” said Normal Lear, who created Maude and Good Times.
Bergman was the first woman elected to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, later serving as the chair and president.
The Bergmans appeared to not have faced many obstacles that have plagued other songwriting teams, comparing their chemistry to housework or baseball.
“Our partnership as writers or as husband and wife?” Marilyn told the Huffington Post. “I think aspects of both are the safe: Respect, trust all of that is necessary in a writing partnership or a business partnership or in a marriage.”
Besides her husband, Alan, Bergman is also survived by their daughter Julie Bergman.
