Alan Bergman, who penned Oscar-winning hits like “The Way We Were” alongside late wife Marilyn, has died at age 99.
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Bergman was barely two months shy of his 100th birthday when he died late Thursday, July 17, at his Los Angeles home. Despite suffering from respiratory issues, he “continued to write songs till the very end,” according to a statement from his family.
Marilyn Bergman, who died in 2022, served as president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) from 1994 to 2009. The couple had one daughter, Julie Bergman Sender.
“Alan Bergman was in a rarified class as a lyricist,” current ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams said in a statement “Together with Marilyn, he crafted elegant rhymes and unforgettable imagery that are forever etched in our memories. I loved his songs and his generosity of spirit. When Alan offered encouragement to me as a songwriter early on – as I know he did for so many others – it truly meant the world. Alan, you will always be songwriting royalty.”
The ASCAP family is mourning the loss of lyricist Alan Bergman, whose lifelong partnership with his wife Marilyn Bergman gave us some of the most elegant, emotionally resonant songs of our time. Read about his life in music: https://t.co/7edbza212z pic.twitter.com/Uxp8NxDic5
— ASCAP (@ASCAP) July 18, 2025
Alan Bergman Left Behind a Legacy With Wife Marilyn
Born Sept. 11, 1925, in Brooklyn, Alan Bergman earned his masters degree in music from UCLA. While living in Los Angeles, he met Marilyn Katz for the first time, despite being born at the same Brooklyn hospital three years apart.
[RELATED: MARILYN BERGMAN: ‘Drifted’ Into Songwriting]
“I was writing with a composer in the mornings and she was writing with the same composer in the afternoons, and one day he decided to introduce his morning lyric writer to his afternoon lyric writer,” Alan recalled in an interview with Jazz Times magazine. “We met, and wrote a song that same day. Not a very good song, but we enjoyed the process. That was in 1956, and we’ve been together ever since.”
Marrying in 1958, the couple’s songs only got better from there. Writing the title track for Frank Sinatra’s 1960 album Nice ‘n’ Easy catapulted Marilyn and Alan Bergman into Hollywood’s A-list circle.
The co-writers took home Oscars in 1968, 1973 and 1984 for “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “The Way We Were,” and for the score of “Yentl.” Their trophy case also included a pair of Emmys, Grammys, and one Golden Globe.
Featured image by UPI/Bettmann/Getty Images
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