Alan Bergman, the Oscar-winning lyricist who, alongside his wife Marilyn, formed a legendary songwriting duo behind hits like “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?”, “It Might Be You,” and the classic “The Way We Were,” has died at 99.
Bergman passed away late Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, according to family spokesperson Ken Sunshine. The statement released Friday said Bergman had been dealing with respiratory issues in recent months, “but continued to write songs till the very end.”
Together with his wife Marilyn, who died in 2022, Alan Bergman penned some of the most enduring lyrics in American film and music. As reported by People, the Bergmans won three Oscars, four Emmys, and two Grammys over their six-decade careers, frequently collaborating with composer Michel Legrand and singer Barbra Streisand.
Born in Brooklyn in 1925, Bergman knew by age 12 that he wanted to become a songwriter. He studied at the University of North Carolina. Through composer Lew Spence, Bergman met Marilyn, and their professional collaboration soon turned into romance. The couple married in 1958 and welcomed their daughter, Julie, in 1960.
“The Way We Were” was the top-selling song of 1974 and earned the Bergmans one of their three Oscars — the others being for “The Windmills of Your Mind” and the Yentl soundtrack, the Streisand-directed film from 1983. At times, the Academy Awards felt like a Bergman tribute: In 1983, three of the five Best Song nominees featured their lyrics. The Bergmans received 16 Oscar nominations in total.
The Bergmans also won two Grammys, four Emmys, were presented numerous lifetime achievement honors and received tributes from individual artists, including Streisand’s 2011 album of Bergman songs, “What Matters Most.” On “Lyrically, Alan Bergman,” Bergman handled the vocals himself.
According to people, the Bergmans were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1979. In 2013, they were given the Recording Academy’s Trustee Award. Aside from film, they wrote iconic theme songs for television programs such as Maude and Good Times.
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