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Marshall Brickman

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Marshall Brickman
Born
Marshall Jacob Brickman

(1939-08-25)August 25, 1939
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
DiedNovember 29, 2024(2024-11-29) (aged 85)
New York City, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBrooklyn Technical High School, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Occupations
  • Writer
  • director
  • musician
Spouse
Nina Feinberg
​
(m. 1973)​
Children2

Marshall Jacob Brickman (August 25, 1939 – November 29, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director,[1][2] best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen, with whom he shared the 1977 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Annie Hall.[3] He was previously the head writer for Johnny Carson, writing scripts for recurring characters such as Carnac the Magnificent. He is also known for playing the banjo with Eric Weissberg in the 1960s, and for a series of comical parodies published in The New Yorker.

Background

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Marshall Jacob Brickman was born on August 25, 1939, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to American parents Pauline (née Wolin) and Abram Brickman.[4] His parents were Jewish.[5][6][7] His father immigrated from Poland.[4] The family returned to the United States in 1943, and Brickman grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn.[4][8]

Brickman was a 1956 graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School, where he was an honor roll student and a participant in WNYE. After attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he studied science and music and briefly aspired to be a doctor, he became a member of folk act the Tarriers in 1962, recruited by former classmate Eric Weissberg.[4] A banjo album that he and Weissberg recorded around this time was later re-licensed as the bulk of the soundtrack to the 1972 film Deliverance.[4][8] Following the disbanding of the Tarriers in 1965, Brickman joined the New Journeymen with John Phillips and Michelle Phillips, who later had success with the Mamas & the Papas.

Career

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Brickman left the New Journeymen to pursue a career as a writer, initially writing for television in the 1960s, including Candid Camera, The Tonight Show,[9] and The Dick Cavett Show. It was during this time that he met Allen, with whom he would collaborate on three completed film screenplays during the 1970s: Sleeper (1973), Annie Hall (1977, which won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar), and Manhattan (1979). In 2015, members of the Writers Guild of America voted Annie Hall as the funniest screenplay ever written.[10]

Brickman directed several of his own scripts in the 1980s, including Simon, Lovesick, and The Manhattan Project, as well as Sister Mary Explains It All, a TV adaptation of the play by Christopher Durang. His script with Allen for Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) had been put aside some years earlier when the project was later revived.[11]

With partner Rick Elice, he wrote the book for the Broadway musical Jersey Boys, about 1960s rock 'n' roll group The Four Seasons.[6] The two collaborated again in 2009 to write the book for the musical The Addams Family.[12]

Brickman's "Who's Who in the Cast," a parody of a Playbill cast list, was published in the July 26, 1976, issue of The New Yorker, and drew so much attention that it was republished in the special theatre issue of May 31, 1993. His other pieces for The New Yorker include "The Recipes of Chairman Mao" (August 27, 1973) and "The New York Review of Gossip" (May 19, 1975).

Personal life and death

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In 1973, Brickman married Nina Feinberg, with whom he had two daughters.[4] He had previously been married to Michelle Phillips' sister, Russell Ann Gilliam.[13] He died in Manhattan on November 29, 2024, at the age of 85.[4][14]

Filmography

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Year Title Director Writer
1973 Sleeper No Yes
1974 Ann in Blue No Yes
1975 The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence No Yes
1977 Annie Hall No Yes
1979 Manhattan No Yes
1980 Simon Yes Yes
1983 Lovesick Yes Yes
1986 The Manhattan Project Yes Yes
1991 For the Boys No Yes
1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery No Yes
1994 Intersection No Yes
2014 Jersey Boys No Yes

Theatre

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Year Title Notes Venue
1975 Straws in the Wind Sketches, Book Off-Broadway[15]
2005 Jersey Boys Book (with Rick Elice). Nominated Best Book of a Musical Tony Award August Wilson Theatre
2010 The Addams Family Book (with Rick Elice) Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

References

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  1. ^ Coyle, Jake (December 2, 2024). "Marshall Brickman, who co-wrote 'Annie Hall,' other films with Woody Allen, dies at 85". The Times of Israel. Associated Press. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Kaufman, Anna (December 2, 2024). "Marshall Brickman, who co-wrote 'Annie Hall' with Woody Allen, dies at 85". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "The 50th Academy Awards | 1978". www.oscars.org. October 5, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Gates, Anita (December 1, 2024). "Marshall Brickman, Woody Allen's Co-Writer on Hit Films, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  5. ^ Jonas, Gerald (June 15, 1986). "Marshall Brickman Humanizes The Nuclear Arms Race". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  6. ^ a b dmichaels (June 14, 2013). "A 'Boys' for All Seasons". Jewish Exponent. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  7. ^ Klickstein, Mathew (September 14, 2016). "The Jewish 'Jersey Boys'". Baltimore Jewish Times. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Koseluk, Chris (December 1, 2024). "Marshall Brickman, Oscar-Winning Screenwriter on 'Annie Hall,' Dies at 85". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  9. ^ Sacks, Mike (July 8, 2009). And Here's The Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers. Writers Digest. ISBN 978-1582975054.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave (November 11, 2015). "'Annie Hall' Named Funniest Screenplay by WGA Members". Variety. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  11. ^ Dowd, Maureen (August 15, 1993). "Diane and Woody, Still a Fun Couple". The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  12. ^ Riedel, Michael (January 30, 2009). "Up & Addams". New York Post. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  13. ^ "Marshall Brickman, Annie Hall and Manhattan co-writer who helped reinvent Woody Allen". The Daily Telegraph. December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  14. ^ Garner, Glenn (December 1, 2024). "Marshall Brickman Dies: Woody Allen's Co-Writer On 'Annie Hall' & 'Manhattan' Was 85". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  15. ^ "Marshall Brickman Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos". www.broadwayworld.com.
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