Marilyn Bergman's songs: Career explored as Oscar-winning lyricist passes away at 93

American lyricist Marilyn Bergman passed away on January 8 at her Los Angeles home.

The news of her demise was confirmed by her daughter Julie Bergman while talking to media outlet CNN:

"She has been declining for the last couple of years, and in the last several weeks, it was clear that she was getting ready to leave, and she died very peacefully without any pain or struggle."

Julie further revealed that she and her father, Alan Bergman, were with Marilyn Bergman at the time of her passing away and she looked beautiful and at peace.

As per her representatives at Sunshine Sachs, the 93-year-old died due to pneumonia which led to respiratory failure (non-COVID related).

Over the course of their careers, Marilyn Bergman and Alan, who were professional and personal partners, were nominated for 16 Academy Awards and won three of them.

---

All about Marilyn Bergman's life and songs

Married in 1958, Marilyn Bergman and her husband Alan were one of Hollywood's most successful songwriter duos.

The pair wrote several songs, including the two-time Grammy Award-winning song The Way We Were, which starred Barbra Streisand.

Together, the Bergmans were nominated for two more Oscars for Windmills of Your Mind in 1968's The Thomas Crown Affair, and for the score of Yentl, which was also directed by Streisand and starred her. Additionally, the couple won four Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards.

The first songwriting duo to be nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Song out of five nominees, the year 1983 brought them nominations for How Do You Keep the Music Playing?, It Might Be You and If We Were In Love.

In 1984, the duo was again nominated for the score of Yentl (they previously bagged an Oscar for this), aside from two of their songs Papa, Can You Hear Me? and The Way He Makes Me Feel.

In 1995, the pair wrote the Academy Award, Grammy Award, and Golden Globe-nominated song Moonlight, which was performed by Sting.

Their major collaborators throughout their career have been Marvin Hamlisch, Michel Legrand, Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, Henry Mancini, Cy Coleman, John Williams, James Newton Howard, and Johnny Mandel.

In a 1996 workshop for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Marilyn Bergman said that she and her husband always work together:

"We're thinking separately when we're not together. So we'll bring something different into the room when we get together to work."

As per ASCAP, Marilyn Bergman was the first woman elected to the ASCAP Board of Directors in 1985 and went on to be elected President and Chairman of the Board in 1994. She and her husband were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980.

Aside from her husband Alan and daughter Julie, Marilyn Bergman was survived by her son-in-law iLan Azoulai, and granddaughter, Emily Sender.