Oscar Nominee Erich Segal Dies at 72

Erich Segal, the author, screenwriter, and playwright best known for penning the best-seller Love Story, died on Sunday, January 16 in London of a heart attack. He was 72 years old.

Segal wrote plays and musicals while studying at Harvard University. Sing Muse!, for which he wrote book and lyrics, was produced Off-Broadway in 1961. In later years, Segal — who taught at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Oxford — wrote books about theater, including a study of the works of the Roman playwright Plautus.

In addition to Love Story and its sequel Oliver’s Story, Segal’s novels included The Class and Doctors. He received an Oscar nomination for the screenplay of Love Story and also penned the screenplays for The Yellow Submarine and A Change of Seasons.

He is survived by his wife Karen and his daughters Francesca and Miranda.