Songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman, among whose compositions are "The Way We Were" and the song score for Yentl, will be the recipients of an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tribute on Friday, May 29, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The evening will be hosted by music producer and composer Quincy Jones, and will feature film clips, personal remembrances from the Bergmans' colleagues and friends, and live performances of several Oscar-nominated songs. In addition to the honorees, special guests include Dave Grusin, James Newton Howard and Michel Legrand.
The former Marilyn Keith (born in New York City in Nov. 1929) met Alan Bergman (born in Brooklyn in Sept. 1925) more than fifty years ago. Their professional partnership has resulted in hundreds of songs for film, television, theater, recordings and concert performances, in addition to 16 Oscar nominations and three awards: for “The Windmills of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), “The Way We Were” from The Way We Were (1973), and the song score for Yentl (1983, above with Neil Diamond and Michel Legrand).
Some of the films that feature songs written by the Bergmans are Paris When It Sizzles (1964), La Piscine (1968), Myra Breckenridge (1970), Ode to Billy Joe (1976), A Star Is Born (1976), Starting Over (1979), Les Uns et les autres / Bolero (1981), Shirley Valentine (1989), For the Boys (1991), and Sabrina (1995).
Among their past musical collaborators are the aforementioned Grusin, Howard, Jones, and Legrand, plus Cy Coleman, Marvin Hamlisch, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mandel and John Williams, while the Bergmans' songs have been performed on film by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles and Luciano Pavarotti.
In 1982 the Bergmans became the first lyricists to be nominated for three of the year’s five Academy Award-nominated songs: “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” (Best Friends), “If We Were in Love” (Yes, Giorgio) and “It Might Be You” (Tootsie). The following year they again received three nominations — two for songs and one for the score of Yentl.
Tickets for “A Tribute to Alan and Marilyn Bergman” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID, and may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
Photos: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library