Marilyn Bergman teamed with husband Alan to forge one of the premier lyric-writing teams in contemporary film music, authoring a series of hit themes for movies including In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair, and The Way We Were. Born Marilyn Keith in New York City on November 10, 1929, she attended the High School of Music and Art before studying English and psychology at N.Y.U.; she married Alan in 1958 and three years later, the couple earned their first big-screen credit for their work on The Right Approach. 1967's In the Heat of Night was the Bergmans' breakthrough; composed with Quincy Jones, the picture's familiar title theme was sung by the inimitable Ray Charles. The following year the couple teamed with composer Michel Legrand for The Thomas Crown Affair, notching an international smash with Noel Harrison's rendition of the film's "The Windmills of Your Mind"; the Bergmans subsequently enjoyed a lengthy collaboration with Legrand that also yielded such familiar favorites as "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" and "How Do You Keep the Music Playing." Arguably their best-known effort is the title theme to the 1973 melodrama The Way We Were, written with Marvin Hamlisch; a number one pop hit for the movie's star, Barbra Streisand, the song also earned an Academy Award. After notching Emmys for their work on the television projects Queen of the Stardust Ballroom and Sybil, the Bergmans reunited with Hamlisch for 1978's Oscar-nominated "The Last Time I Felt Like This" from Same Time, Next Year; with Dave Grusin, the couple also penned the Tootsie theme "It Might Be You," a Top Ten hit for Stephen Bishop in 1982. A year later, they earned the Oscar for Best Original Score for their work on Streisand's Yentl; the Bergmans also earned Academy Award nominations for their contributions to 1989's Shirley Valentine and 1995's Sabrina. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: Tootsie, The One and Only, Ode to Billy Joe
First Major Screen Credit: Stop the World, I Want to Get Off (1966)
Biography
Along with her husband, Alan Bergman, lyricist/songwriter Marilyn Bergman has been responsible for some of the catchiest songs -- many of them love songs -- in Broadway, television, and feature films. Born Marilyn Keith in New York City, she received her education at the High School of Music and Art and at New York University where she studied English and psychology. She teamed up professionally with Alan in the late '50s and married him in 1958. Together, the two have penned tunes in conjunction with such noted composers as Henry Mancini, Marvin Hamlisch, and John Williams. The duo has also won awards in every major media category including the Grammy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
She was born Marilyn Keith in Brooklyn, New York and studied psychology and English at New York University. She and her husband Alan Bergman, whom she married in 1958, were born in the same hospital and raised in the same Brooklyn neighborhood, but didn't meet until each had relocated to Los Angeles. Together they have written the music and lyrics for numerous television shows, films, and stage musicals. One of their early successes was "Sleep Warm" the title track to Dean Martin's 1959 album on which Frank Sinatra was the 'guest' conductor. Sinatra sang his first of their compositions, "Love Looks So Well On You", on Sinatra Sings of Love and Things, which came out in 1962.
Bergman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980, and in 1995 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Berklee College of Music. The following year, she received France's highest cultural honor, the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters medal.
Lyrics for "I knew I loved you", the Quincy Jones produced Celine Dion song that was the theme for the movie Once Upon a Time in America with music by Ennio Morricone.
Lyrics for "Fowl Owl" from the film "In The Heat of the Night" 1967