Hollywood
US composer Marilyn Bergman is dead
US composer Marilyn Bergman (r) with her husband Alan at an event in Beverly Hills. The three-time Oscar winner has died at the age of 93. Photo: Matt Sayles / AP / dpa
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With her song compositions, Marilyn Bergman won three Oscar trophies in Hollywood. The songwriter died at the age of 93. Stars like Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett and Quincy Jones mourn.
The American song composer and three-time Oscar winner Marilyn Bergman is dead. She died on Saturday in her home in Los Angeles, as her spokesman for the German press agency announced.
Her colleague and husband Alan Bergman (96) and her daughter Julie were by her side, it said. The multi-award-winning composer and songwriter was 93 years old. Stars like Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett and Quincy Jones expressed their grief and paid tribute to Bergman’s work.
Long career
The couple, who have been married since 1958, are best known for their film scores. You have been nominated for an Oscar 16 times. The first nomination brought them the first trophy straight away – for the song “The Windmills of your Mind” for the film “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1969).
Further Oscars followed for the song “The Way We Were” (1973) from the love story “As we were” with Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford and in 1984 for the lyrics for the film “Yentl” directed by Streisand. The songwriting duo worked with the French composer Michel Legrand.
World stars give their condolences
More than 60 years ago they met in a small club and never stopped loving and working together, wrote Streisand (79) on Twitter. “Your songs are timeless, just like our love.” You would have written his favorite song, singer Tony Bennett (95) praised the duo and linked his version of the song “How Do You Keep The Music Playing?” On Twitter. “We lost Marilyn today, but her music continues”.
“Your songs will forever sing in our hearts,” wrote music producer Quincy Jones (88) on Twitter. Every minute of their life together with music, laughter, love and hugs was “pure joy”.
The Bergmans also wrote hit songs for Streisand such as “Solitary Moon”, “The Same Hello, the Same Goodbye” or “That Face”. There were other Oscar nominations for the songs “It Might Be You” from “Tootsie”, “If we were in Love” from “Beloved Giorgio” and most recently in 1996 for the song “Moonlight” from the film comedy “Sabrina”.