Christopher "Chris" Gore (1944–1988) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and lyricist. Gore is best known for writing the screenplay for the 1980 musical film ''Fame'', for which he received a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

. Gore was born on August 10, 1944, in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. Shortly after graduating from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, Gore began writing plays and musicals. One of his early works, ''Mary'', was a musical about

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

that was produced in

in 1967. His first Broadway show, ''

Via Galactica ''Via Galactica'' is a rock musical with a book by Christopher Gore and Judith Ross, lyrics by Gore, and music by Galt MacDermot. It marked the Broadway debut of actor Mark Baker. Originally entitled ''Up!'', it offers a futuristic story of so ...

'', which he wrote with Judith Ross and Galt MacDermot, premiered in 1972. In 1977, he also wrote the book and lyrics for a musical about the Egyptian queen

Nefertiti Nefertiti () () was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Great Royal Wife, great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious poli ...

. Although his obituary in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (citing his mother) stated that Gore died of cancer, subsequent reports now accurately state that he died of AIDS on May 18, 1988 at age 43 in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gore, Christopher 1944 births 1988 deaths Writers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American male lyricists American male screenwriters American male dramatists and playwrights American gay writers American LGBTQ songwriters American LGBTQ screenwriters American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Gay songwriters Gay screenwriters Gay dramatists and playwrights LGBTQ lyricists LGBTQ people from Florida Northwestern University alumni AIDS-related deaths in California 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American songwriters 20th-century American LGBTQ people