NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The Oscar-winning screenwriter Marshall Brickman, whose wide-ranging career spanned some of 's best films, the Broadway musical and a number of Johnny Carson's most beloved sketches, has died. He was 85.
Brickman died Friday in Manhattan, his daughter Sophie Brickman . No cause of death was cited.
Brickman was best known for his extensive collaboration with Allen, beginning with the 1973 film 鈥淪leeper.鈥� Together, they co-wrote 鈥淎nnie Hall鈥� (1977), 鈥淢anhattan" (1979) and 鈥淢anhattan Murder Mystery" (1993). The loosely structured script for 鈥淎nnie Hall,鈥� in particular, has been hailed as one of the wittiest comedies. It won Brickman and Allen an Oscar for best original screenplay.
In his acceptance speech (Allen skipped the ceremony), Brickman referenced one of the film's many oft-quoted lines, saying: "I've been out here a week, and I still have guilt when I make a right turn on a red light.鈥�
鈥淚f the film is worth anything,鈥� Brickman in 2017, 鈥渋t gives a very particular specific image of what it was like to be alive in New York at that time in that particular social-economic stratum.鈥�
Brickman and Allen had met in the early 1960s, when Allen was breaking through as a stand-up comedian. Brickman was brought on to write jokes for him. At the time, he had been playing banjo for the folk group the Tarriers. In one of the many twists of Brickman's career, it was an album he and his college roommate Eric Weissberg recorded that later made the soundtrack to 1972's 鈥淒eliverance,鈥� including 鈥淒ueling Banjos.鈥�
Brickman, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was the son of Jewish socialists Abram (who fled Poland during WWII) and Pauline (Wolin) Brickman, who was from New York. They later moved to the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, where Brickman grew up. His start in show business, after graduating from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in science and music, came with the Terriers. He replaced in the group.
鈥淥ne of the reasons I was asked to join was because they needed somebody to front the group and talk while everybody was tuning up,鈥� Brickman told the Writers Guild in 2011. 鈥淎nd so I started to develop little jokes and routines and stuff like that.鈥�
By the late 鈥�60s, Brickman was head writer for Carson鈥檚 鈥淭he Tonight Show." There, one of his most enduring contributions were the Carnac the Magnificent sketches, during which Carson played a 鈥渕ystic from the East鈥� who could divine answers to unseen questions. Brickman鈥檚 other TV stints included 鈥淐andid Camera,鈥� 鈥淭he Dick Cavett Show鈥� and 鈥淭he Muppet Show.鈥�
When Brickman and Allen began writing together, they found a natural chemistry, with Brickman playing a supporting role to Allen's semi-autobiographical material.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 write scenes together. I think that鈥檚 the death for any collaboration,鈥� Brickman told the Writers Guild. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any such thing really as an equal collaboration. I think that in any collaboration, one person, one personality, one point of view has to dominate."
Brickman wrote and directed the 1980 film 鈥淪imon,鈥� starring Arkin as a psychology professor brainwashed into believing he's from outer space. He also directed 1983's 鈥淟ovesick," with Alec Guinness as the ghost of Sigmund Freud, and 1986's 鈥淭he Manhattan Project,鈥� about a high schooler who builds a nuclear weapon for a school project.
With Rick Elice penning the music, Brickman wrote the Broadway musical 鈥淛ersey Boys,鈥� about the 1960s rock group The Four Seasons. It ran on Broadway for 12 years beginning in 2005. He and Elice also wrote the 2010 musical 鈥淭he Addams Family.鈥�
Brickman is survived by his wife, Nina, daughters Sophie and Jessica, and five grandchildren.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
