Alan Bergman, the lyricist whose collaborations with his wife Marilyn were behind the Oscar-winning songs “The Way We Were,” and “The Windmills of Your Mind” as well as such beloved TV theme songs for such series as Good Times, Maude and Alice, died on Thursday night at his home in Los Angeles. He was 99.
His death was announced by a family spokesman, Ken Sunshine. (Marilyn Bergman died in 2022.)
According to Sunshine, Bergman suffered from respiratory issues in recent months, but continued to write songs till the very end. His daughter Julie Bergman was present at the time of his death.
For most of the three decades starting in 1970, the husband-and-wife team scored 16 Oscar nominations. A partial list of their notable songs includes:
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- “I Knew I Loved You” (music by Ennio Morricone) recorded by Céline Dion for the Morricone tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone (2007)
- “The Windmills of Your Mind” (music by Michel Legrand) for 1968 movie The Thomas Crown Affair
- “The Way We Were” (music by Marvin Hamlisch) for 1973 movie The Way We Were
- “Yellow Bird” written for Norman Luboff’s arrangement of the creole song “Choucoune”
- “Nice ‘n’ Easy” (music by Lew Spence) for Frank Sinatra’s 1960 album Nice ‘n’ Easy
- “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (music by Neil Diamond), best known for the duet version by Diamond and Barbra Streisand
Considered two of the most influential lyricists of 20th Century American music, particularly in the film and tv realms, the Bergmans’ music has been performed by many of the premiere vocalists of their era, including Streisand, Sinatra, and Ray Charles. Their music was featured in, among many other films, Yentl, Tootsie, and Sabrina. Their collaborators included Michel Legrand, Marvin Hamlisch, Quincy Jones, and John Williams.
Some of the duo’s most ingrained songs on the American mind were their clever TV theme songs, including three for Norman Lear 1970s sitcoms. “And Then There’s Maude” (written with composer Dave Grusin, began “Lady Godiva was a freedom rider/She didn’t care if the whole world looked” and went on to list notable women in history before landing on Bea Arthur’s Maude). For Good Times (also with composer Grusin), the couple wrote, “Not getting hassled, not getting hustled/Keepin’ your head above water/Making a wave when you can.”
With composer David Shire, the Bergmans wrote the theme to Alice, performed by the sitcom’s star Linda Lavin. “There’s a new girl in town and she’s looking good,” the song notes, setting up the series’ premise.
After his wife’s death in 2022, Bergman continued to write, record, and perform. His most recent collaboration is with guitarist and composer Pat Metheny, who is set to record an album of 9 Bergman/Metheny songs later this year.
Born September 11, 1925, in Brooklyn, Bergman went on to earn a master’s degree in music at UCLA. At first finding work in TV production in Philadelphia, Bergman moved to Los Angeles in the late 1950s, where he met Marilyn. The two wrote the lyrics for the title song of Dean Martin’s 1958 album Sleep Warm, and two years later did the same for Frank Sinatra’s album Nice ‘n’ Easy. In 1964, the Bergmans wrote lyrics to their first Broadway musical, Something More!, with music by Sammy Fain.
Teaming up with Quincy Jones in 1967, the Bergmans wrote lyrics for the title track to the film In the Heat of the Night. The trio would reunite in 1982 for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial soundtrack.
Among the Bergmans’ many accolades are three Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three Grammy Awards, and four Emmy Awards. In 1983 they became the first songwriters to be nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Song out of the five nominated songs for “How Do You Keep the Music Playing” from Best Friends, It Might Be You” from Tootsie, and “If We Were In Love,” from Yes, Giorgio.
The Bergmans have been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and received its prestigious Johnny Mercer Award, as well as the Grammy Trustee Award for lifetime achievement. Additional honors include the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Music Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and the University of Massachusetts. Alan Bergman’s alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, recognized him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award.
In lieu of flowers the family wishes to suggest donations be made to honor Alan to the ASCAP Foundation Alan and Marilyn Bergman Lyric award, or The Johnny Mercer Foundation.
Survivors include his daughter Julie Bergman, a writer and film producer, and granddaughter Emily Sender. There will be a private graveside burial.
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