Andrew Bergman (born February 20, 1945) is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. His best-known films include '' Blazing Saddles'', '' The In-Laws'', '' The Freshman'' and ''

Striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...

''.

Early life

Born to a Jewish family, Bergman graduated from

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

in 1965 and earned a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in American history from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

in 1970. His dissertation, a study of Depression-era Hollywood films, was published in 1971 by NYU Press under the title ''We're in the Money: Depression America and Its Films''. He also wrote ''James Cagney: The Pictorial Treasury of Film Stars''.

Career

Screenwriting

Bergman broke into the film industry by writing the original screenplay (titled ''Tex X'') that served as the basis for

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

's classic '' Blazing Saddles'' (1974), and was among the writers who adapted it into its final state. He was later the sole creator of the TV sitcom pilot adaptation called "Black Bart" starring Louis Gossett Jr. for CBS which aired only once on April 4, 1975. The production was only a contractual requirement by Warner Bros. in order to maintain movie rights to produce future sequels. Mel Brooks did not have any involvement. He wrote a gangster film ''Rhapsody in Crime'' that was never made. Warner Bros approached him to write a sequel to '' Freebie and the Bean'' with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. Instead, Bergman came up with '' The In-Laws'' (1979).

Director

''The In-Laws'' was a success, so Bergman could direct his next script, '' So Fine'' (1981) starring Ryan O'Neal. It was a box office disappointment. Bergman wrote '' Oh, God! You Devil'' (1984) and '' Fletch'' (1985) starring

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

. The latter was a big hit. Less successful was '' Big Trouble'' (1986), the final film to be directed by

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

. In 1987, The Lobell/Bergman Company, which was a joint venture with producer Michael Lobell, had signed a first-look deal at Universal Pictures to handle film production of various movies. ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' magazine in 1985 dubbed him "The Unknown King of Comedy." He wrote and directed '' The Freshman'' (1990) starring

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

and

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...

and did a rewrite on ''

Soapdish ''Soapdish'' is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Michael Hoffman (American director), Michael Hoffman, from a screenplay by Robert Harling (writer), Robert Harling and Andrew Bergman. The film was produced by Aaron Spelling and Alan Greis ...

'' (1991). He executive produced a number of movies including '' Chances Are'' (1989), '' White Fang'' (1991), '' Undercover Blues'' (1993) and '' Little Big League'' (1994). Bergman wrote and directed ''

Honeymoon in Vegas ''Honeymoon in Vegas'' is a 1992 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman and starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. Plot Private eye Jack Singer swore to his mother on her deathbed that h ...

'' (1992) starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

and

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

, and directed '' It Could Happen To You'' (1994) starring

and Bridget Fonda. He wrote the initial draft for '' The Scout'' (1994), although he says the resulting film is different from his version. The film gives writing credit to Roger Angell, Bergman,

Monica Johnson Monica Johnson (February 21, 1946 – November 1, 2010) was an American screenwriter whose film credits included ''Mother'', ''Lost in America'', '' Modern Romance'', '' Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again'' and '' The Muse''. Her television credit ...

and star

Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein; July 22, 1947) is an American actor, director and screenwriter. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1987 comedy-drama film '' Broadcast News' ...

. Bergman wrote and directed ''

'' (1996) starring

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...

, and directed the

Jacqueline Susann Jacqueline Susann (August 20, 1918 – September 21, 1974) was an American novelist and actress. Her novel ''Valley of the Dolls (novel), Valley of the Dolls'' (1966) is one of the List of best-selling books, best-selling books in publishing his ...

biopic '' Isn't She Great'' (2000) starring

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

and

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been Nathan Lane on screen and stage, on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Na ...

. He has written four novels: ''The Big Kiss-Off of 1944'', ''Hollywood and LeVine'', ''Tender Is LeVine'', and ''Sleepless Nights''. The first three are hard-boiled noir detective stories about a Jewish private eye called Jack LeVine (originally Jacob Levine) in 1940s New York. The fourth is a psychological study of a Jewish family. He also wrote the Broadway comedy, ''

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

'', and ''Working Title''. The Andrew Bergman History Writing Prize is awarded by the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Theatre

His first play on Broadway, ''

'', opened in 1986, starring

Marlo Thomas Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her Children's television series, children's franc ...

and

Ron Silver Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor, director, producer, radio host, and activist. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best ...

. In 2013, Bergman would go on to adapt his movie and write the book for the ''

'' Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown.

Awards

In 2007, Bergman received the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Writing from the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

. For his work on ''Striptease'', Bergman received the

Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John ...

s for Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and shared the Worst Picture Award with co-producer Mike Lobell.

Personal life

He lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with his wife. He has two grown sons.

Filmography

Film Executive producer * '' Chances Are'' (1989) * '' White Fang'' (1991) * '' Undercover Blues'' (1993) * '' Little Big League'' (1994) Television

References

External links

*
"Eulogy for Joel Siegel by Screenwriter Andrew Bergman"

"Andrew Bergman", ''Charlie Rose''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergman, Andrew 1945 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American screenwriters American comedy writers American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists American male screenwriters Binghamton University alumni Film directors from New York City Jewish American comedy writers Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American screenwriters Jewish novelists Jews from New York (state) Novelists from New York City Mass media people from Queens, New York Screenwriters from New York City University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Writers from Queens, New York Writers Guild of America Award winners