Alan Bergman, the award-winning songwriter who helped craft Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were” and Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind,” had died at the age of 99. The lyricist racked up a myriad of accolades for music he created in a songwriting duo with his wife Marilyn Bergman, who died in 2022 at the age of 93.
Bergman’s representative Ken Sunshine confirmed Bergman’s death, noting that he experienced respiratory issues in recent months, “but continued to write songs till the very end.”
Throughout his career, Bergman’s lyrics were recorded and performed by Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Céline Dion, and more. His collaborators included Michel Legrand, Marvin Hamlisch, Quincy Jones, and John Williams. Prior to his death, Bergman completed nine songs with the guitarist and composer Pat Metheny, which will appear on an upcoming album set for release later this year.
Bergman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame with Marilyn in 1980. The couple were awarded three Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three Grammy Awards, and four Emmy Awards for their work together. The duo are also the namesake behind the ASCAP Foundation Alan and Marilyn Bergman Lyric Award, which honors “songwriters in the early stages of their careers whose lyrics reflect the craftsmanship of the Great American Songbook.”
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The Bergmans were nominated for the Song of the Year Grammy four times and received the Trustees Award from the Recording Academy in 2013. “The Way We Were” took home Best Original Song at the 46th Academy Awards and the Golden Globes in 1974, in addition to Song of the Year the Grammy Awards in 1975. Their Academy Award wins include two additional separate Oscars for “The Windmills of Your Mind” and the score for Yentl.
Bergman was born in Brooklyn and decided to be a songwriter at the age of 10. After briefly pursuing a career as a television direction, his mentor Johnny Mercer pushed him to pursue songwriting in a more serious manner. He met Marilyn in California, where they collaborated before getting married in 1958. Bergman is survived by his daughter Julie Bergman, a writer and film producer, and granddaughter Emily Sender.
