Troublemakers didn't have anything on Ernest Lehman. He put Cary Grant into harm's way on Mount Rushmore, helped Audrey Hepburn bewitch Humphrey Bogart and gave the Sharks and the Jets something to fight about in their big-screen face off.
Posted on 07/06/2005 1:56:21 AM PDT by RWR8189
Ernest Lehman, a noted Hollywood screenwriter whose work included classic films of the 1950's and 60's like "North by Northwest," "Sweet Smell of Success" and "The Sound of Music," died on Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 89 and lived in Los Angeles.
The apparent cause was a heart attack, his wife, Laurie, said.
One of the best-known screenwriters in Hollywood in the postwar years, Mr. Lehman worked with many of the most prominent directors of the period, including Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder. A master of adaptation, he wrote or was a co-writer of film scripts for several Broadway musicals, including "The King and I" (1956), "West Side Story" (1961) and "The Sound of Music" (1965); romantic comedies like "Sabrina" (1954), which began life as a play; and astringent dramas like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), by Edward Albee.
For "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957), which explored the relationship between a sycophantic press agent (Tony Curtis) and a vindictive newspaper columnist (Burt Lancaster), Mr. Lehman adapted his own novella, first published in 1950.
In 2001, Mr. Lehman received a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; he was the first screenwriter to be so honored. He also produced three films, "Virginia Woolf," "Hello, Dolly!" (1969) and "Portnoy's Complaint" (1972).
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
North by Northwest is one of my favorite movies.
Brilliant and talented man. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Rest in peace, Mr. Lehman.
One of the truly distinguished screenwriters. R.I.P.
"War is hell, Mr. Thornhill. Even a Cold one."
- The "Professor" to Roger Thornhill in "North By Northwest
Lehman, who became a father for the third time in his late 80s, is survived by his children and wife Laurie.
I'll betya that was a script rewrite he personally approved of. :-)
Troublemakers didn't have anything on Ernest Lehman. He put Cary Grant into harm's way on Mount Rushmore, helped Audrey Hepburn bewitch Humphrey Bogart and gave the Sharks and the Jets something to fight about in their big-screen face off.
Ironically enough, Evan Hunter, who wrote the screenplay to Hitchcock's last great film, The Birds, also just died.
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