Ernest Lehman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ernest Paul Lehman (1915-12-08)December 8, 1915 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 2, 2005(2005-07-02) (aged 89) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Burial place | Westwood Village Memorial Park |
| Alma mater | City College of New York (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Hello, Dolly! The King and I North by Northwest Sabrina The Sound of Music Sweet Smell of Success West Side Story Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
Ernest Paul Lehman[1] (December 8, 1915 – July 2, 2005) was an American screenwriter and film producer.[2] He was nominated six times forAcademy Awards for his screenplays during his career, but did not win.[2] At the73rd Academy Awards in 2001, he received anHonorary Academy Award in recognition of his achievements and his influential works for the screen. He was the first screenwriter to receive that honor.
He received twoEdgar Awards of theMystery Writers of America for screenplays of suspense films he wrote for directorAlfred Hitchcock:North by Northwest (1959), his only original screenplay, andFamily Plot (1976), one of numerous adaptations.
Lehman was born in 1915 to Gertrude (Thorn) and Paul E. Lehman.[3] Their Jewish family was based onLong Island.[4] Lehman attended theCollege of the City of New York (The City College of New York), from which he earned a bachelor's degree.[2]
During World War II he was trained at the New England Radio Institute, then worked as a radio operator for the aviation industry.[5]
After graduation, Lehman started working as a freelance writer. Lehman felt that freelancing was a "very nervous way to make a living", so he began writing copy for a publicity firm that focused on plays and celebrities. He drew from this experience for the screenplay of the filmSweet Smell of Success (1957), which he co-wrote with playwrightClifford Odets.
Lehman also published many short stories and novellas in magazines such asColliers,Redbook andCosmopolitan. These attracted the attention ofHollywood managers, and in the mid-1950sParamount Pictures signed him to a writing contract. His first film,Executive Suite (1954), was a success.
Lehman was asked to collaborate on the romantic comedySabrina (1954), which was released the same year and also became a hit. Some of his most notable works are the screenplay adaptations of the musicalWest Side Story (1961)[2] and the mega-hit film version ofThe Sound of Music (1965), another musical.[2] Lehman's work on the screenplay for Sound of Music expanded the stage version to use real locations inSalzburg, having found theFelsenreitschule while location scouting and worked it into the screenplay as the location for the folk festival.
In 1958,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had hired Hitchcock to make a film calledThe Wreck of the Mary Deare, based onHammond Innes'novel of the same name. Collaborating with Lehman, Hitchcock producedNorth by Northwest (1959) instead. This was one of Lehman's few original screenplays (rather than adaptations). The film starredCary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill, a Madison Avenue advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent by a group of menacing spies (led byJames Mason andMartin Landau). Lehman later said he intendedNorth by Northwest to be "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures." The writing process took Lehman a year, including several periods of writer's block, as well as a trip toMount Rushmore to do research for the film's climax.
North by Northwest was one of Lehman's greatest triumphs in Hollywood and a huge hit for Hitchcock. For his efforts, Lehman received an Academy Award nomination forBest Original Screenplay, as well as a 1960Edgar Award from theMystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.
In addition to screenwriting, Lehman tried his hand at producing. He was among the few people who initially favored afilm adaptation ofEdward Albee's playWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He persuaded studio executiveJack L. Warner to allow him to take on the project, and the film was a critical sensation, garnering manyAcademy Award nominations. Lehman was also nominated for an Academy Award for producingHello, Dolly! (1969), starringBarbra Streisand.[2]
In 1972, Lehman directedPortnoy's Complaint, based on the novel byPhilip Roth; this was his only directorial work.[2] Later, he earned another Edgar Award for his screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's final movie,Family Plot (1976).
By 1979, Lehman had stopped writing screenplays, aside from some television projects. He turned down offers to write forJonathan Demme'sThe Silence of the Lambs andBrian De Palma'sMission: Impossible. Lehman completed adaptations for two films that were never made: a screenplay for theNoël Coward classicHay Fever, and one for a musical version ofZorba the Greek. The latter was intended for direction byRobert Wise and starring actorsAnthony Quinn andJohn Travolta.
In 1977, Lehman published the bestselling novelThe French Atlantic Affair, about a group of unemployed, middle-class Americans who hijack a French cruise ship for a $35 million ransom. It was adapted as a TV miniseries in 1979.
Lehman married Jacqueline Shapiro in 1942. They had two sons, Roger and Alan. Jacqueline died in 1994.[2]
In 1997, Lehman married Laurie Sherman. They had one son, Jonathan, and were married until his death.[2]
Lehman heldamateur radio callsign K6DXK.[6] He was an active member of the Bel Air Repeater Association.
Lehman died on July 2, 2005, atUCLA Medical Center after an apparent heart attack.[7] He was buried at theWestwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Lehman received six Academy Award nominations during his career, but never won. At the73rd Academy Awards ceremony in 2001, he became the first screenwriter to receive anHonorary Academy Award from theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lehman did, however, receive more honorable recognition from theWriters Guild of America than any other screenwriter in film history.
