The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a tribute to Oscar®-winning songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman on Friday, May 29, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Hosted by music producer and composer Quincy Jones, the evening will celebrate the prolific lyricists through film clips, personal remembrances from their colleagues and friends, and live performances of several Oscar-nominated songs. Special guests include the Bergmans, Dave Grusin, James Newton Howard and Michel Legrand.
More than 50 years ago, Marilyn Keith met another up-and-coming young songwriter named Alan Bergman, marking the start of a personal and professional partnership that has resulted in 16 Oscar nominations and three awards, for "The Windmills of Your Mind" ("The Thomas Crown Affair," 1968), "The Way We Were" ("The Way We Were," 1973), and the song score for "Yentl" (1983).
As a songwriting team, Alan and Marilyn Bergman have written the lyrics for hundreds of songs for film, television, theater, recordings and concert performances. Their musical collaborators include a "who's who" of composers: Cy Coleman, Grusin, Marvin Hamlisch, Howard, Jones, Legrand, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mandel and John Williams, to name a few. Their songs have been interpreted on film by such musical legends as Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles and Luciano Pavarotti.
In 1982 the Bergmans became the first lyricists to be nominated for three of the year's five Academy Award®-nominated songs: "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" ("Best Friends"), "If We Were in Love" ("Yes, Giorgio") and "It Might Be You" ("Tootsie"). The following year they again received three nominations (two for songs and one for the score of "Yentl").
Tickets for "A Tribute to Alan and Marilyn Bergman" are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID, and may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
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