 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Alvin Sargent" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Alvin Sargent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Alvin Supowitz[1] (1927-04-12)April 12, 1927 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 2019(2019-05-09) (aged 92) Seattle,Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1956–2012 |
| Spouses | |
| Relatives | Herb Sargent (brother) Alvin York (cousin) |
Alvin Sargent (April 12, 1927 – May 9, 2019) was an American screenwriter. He won twoAcademy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, forJulia (1977) andOrdinary People (1980). Sargent's other works include screenplays of the filmsThe Sterile Cuckoo (1969),The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1970),Paper Moon (1973),Nuts (1987),White Palace (1990),What About Bob? (1991),Unfaithful (2002),Spider-Man 2 (2004),Spider-Man 3 (2007), andThe Amazing Spider-Man (2012).
Alvin Sargent was born Alvin Supowitz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Esther (née Kadansky) and Isaac Supowitz. He was of Russian Jewish descent.[2] Sargent attendedUpper Darby High School, leaving aged 17 to join the Navy. As of 2006, he was one of 35 alumni to be on the school's Wall of Fame.
Sargent began writing for television in 1953. Through the 1960s he scripted episodes forRoute 66,Ben Casey andThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour. His first film screenplay wasGambit (1966), written withJack Davies. He gained recognition forI Walk the Line (1970) andPaper Moon (1973). For his work on the latter, he won theWGA Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and was nominated for anAcademy Award. He won the Academy Award forAdapted Screenplay in 1978 for the filmJulia (1977), and again in 1981 forOrdinary People (1980). Near the end of his career, he collaborated on the screenplays for threeSpider-Man films:Spider-Man 2 (2004),Spider-Man 3 (2007), andThe Amazing Spider-Man (2012).
He had a longtime relationship with producerLaura Ziskin; they were married from 2010 until her death in 2011.[3] His brother was writer and producerHerb Sargent.
Sargent died from natural causes inSeattle on May 9, 2019, four weeks after his 92nd birthday.[4]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Gambit | Co-written withJack Davies. |
| 1968 | The Stalking Moon | Co-written withWendell Mayes. |
| 1969 | The Sterile Cuckoo | |
| 1970 | I Walk the Line | |
| 1972 | The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds | |
| 1973 | Paper Moon | |
| Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing | ||
| 1977 | Julia | |
| Bobby Deerfield | ||
| 1978 | Straight Time | Co-written withJeffrey Boam. |
| 1980 | Ordinary People | |
| 1987 | Nuts | Co-written withTom Topor andDaryl Ponicsan. |
| 1988 | Dominick and Eugene | |
| 1990 | White Palace | Co-written withTed Tally. |
| 1991 | Other People's Money | |
| What About Bob? | Story only; co-written byLaura Ziskin. | |
| 1992 | Hero | Story only; co-written by Laura Ziskin andDavid Webb Peoples. |
| 1996 | Bogus | |
| 1999 | Anywhere but Here | |
| 2002 | Unfaithful | Co-written withWilliam Broyles Jr. |
| Spider-Man | Uncredited.[5] | |
| 2004 | Spider-Man 2 | |
| 2007 | Spider-Man 3 | Co-written withSam Raimi andIvan Raimi. |
| 2012 | The Amazing Spider-Man | Co-written withJames Vanderbilt andSteve Kloves. |
