Alvin Sargent
American screenwriter (1927–2019)
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Alvin Sargent (April 12, 1927 – May 9, 2019) was an American screenwriter. He won two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, for Julia (1977) and Ordinary People (1980). Sargent's other works include screenplays of the films The 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), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).
April 12, 1927
Alvin Sargent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Alvin Supowitz[1] April 12, 1927 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 2019 (aged 92) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1956–2012 |
| Spouses | |
| Relatives | Herb Sargent (brother) Alvin York (cousin) |
Early life
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 attended Upper 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.
Career
Sargent began writing for television in 1953. Through the 1960s he scripted episodes for Route 66, Ben Casey and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. His first film screenplay was Gambit (1966), written with Jack Davies. He gained recognition for I Walk the Line (1970) and Paper Moon (1973). For his work on the latter, he won the WGA Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and was nominated for an Academy Award. He won the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay in 1978 for the film Julia (1977), and again in 1981 for Ordinary People (1980). Near the end of his career, he collaborated on the screenplays for three Spider-Man films: Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).
Personal life
He had a longtime relationship with producer Laura Ziskin; they were married from 2010 until her death in 2011.[3] His brother was writer and producer Herb Sargent.
Death
Filmography
Writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Gambit | Co-written with Jack Davies. |
| 1968 | The Stalking Moon | Co-written with Wendell 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 with Jeffrey Boam. |
| 1980 | Ordinary People | |
| 1987 | Nuts | Co-written with Tom Topor and Daryl Ponicsan. |
| 1988 | Dominick and Eugene | |
| 1990 | White Palace | Co-written with Ted Tally. |
| 1991 | Other People's Money | |
| What About Bob? | Story only; co-written by Laura Ziskin. | |
| 1992 | Hero | Story only; co-written by Laura Ziskin and David Webb Peoples. |
| 1996 | Bogus | |
| 1999 | Anywhere but Here | |
| 2002 | Unfaithful | Co-written with William Broyles Jr. |
| Spider-Man | Uncredited.[5] | |
| 2004 | Spider-Man 2 | |
| 2007 | Spider-Man 3 | Co-written with Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi. |
| 2012 | The Amazing Spider-Man | Co-written with James Vanderbilt and Steve Kloves. |
Actor
- From Here to Eternity (1953) - Nair (uncredited)