Ernest Lehman
| Ernest Lehman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 8, 1915 New York City |
| Died | July 2, 2005 (aged 89) UCLA Medical Center Los Angeles |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, producer, director |
| Known for |
Hello, Dolly! The King and I North by Northwest Sabrina The Sound of Music Sweet Smell of Success West Side Story Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? |
| Spouse(s) | Jacqueline Shapiro (1942–1994; her death) Laurie Sherman (1997–2005; his death) |
| Children | 3 sons |
Ernest Paul Lehman (December 8, 1915 – July 2, 2005) was an American screenwriter. He received six Academy Award nominations during his career, without a single win. At the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001, he received an Honorary Academy Award for his ingenious and influential works for the screen that has inspired new generations of screenwriters and captivated filmmakers, actors, film critics, and audiences by the beauty of his screenwriting. He was the first screenwriter to receive that honor. The award was presented to him by friend and The Sound of Music star Julie Andrews.
Lehman was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Gertrude (Thorn) and Paul E. Lehman. He was from a wealthy Jewish Long Island family whose fortunes were seriously affected by the Great Depression. Upon his graduation from College of the City of New York (The City College of New York), Lehman became a freelance writer. Lehman felt that freelancing was a "very nervous way to make a living" so he began writing copy for a publicity firm which focused on plays and celebrities. This experience helped form the basis of his 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success, which he co-wrote with Clifford Odets. Lehman wrote many short stories and novellas for magazines like Colliers, Redbook and Cosmopolitan. These attracted the attention of Hollywood and in the mid-1950s Paramount Pictures signed him to a writing contract. His first film, Executive Suite, was a success and he was asked to collaborate on the romantic comedy Sabrina, which also became a hit. Some of his most visible contributions to the Hollywood canon are the screenplay adaptations of West Side Story and the mega-hit film version of The Sound of Music.
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