Screenwriter-Producer Ernest Lehman Dies at 89

Ernest Lehman, the screenwriter of The King and I, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Who’s Aftraid of Virginia Woolf, and Hello, Dolly!, died in Los Angeles of a heart attack on July 2 at age 89.

He received Academy Award nominations for the screenplays of West Side Story, Virginia Woolf, and Sabrina, which was based on the 1953 Broadway play Sabrina Fair by Samuel Taylor. He was also Oscar-nominated as a producer of Virginia Woolf and Hello, Dolly!, both of which were nominated for Best Picture.

Lehman co-wrote the screenplay for the 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success, based on his own novella, and he was a co-producer of the 2002 Broadway musical version starring John Lithgow. His other credits include writing, producing, and directing the 1972 film Portnoy’s Complaint, based on the Philip Roth novel; and writing North by Northwest, the Alfred Hitchcock film starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint.

In 2001, Lehman recieved an honorary Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. He is survived by his second wife, Laurie Sherman, and three children: Roger, Alan and Jonathan.