Voting Station

Alan and Marilyn Bergman

Please vote to return to collections.

Songwriters

The Resume

    Born in Brooklyn, New York
    Alan Bergman (September 11, 1925- )
    Marilyn Bergman (November 9, 1929-January 8, 2022), birth name was Marilyn Keith
    Won an Oscar for Best Song Score for ‘Yentl’ (1983)
    Won Oscars for Best Song for ‘The Windmills of Your Mind’ (1968) and ‘The Way We Were’ (1973)
    Also wrote the songs ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,’ ‘Nice ‘n’ Easy,’ ‘I Knew I Loved You,’ ‘In the Heat of the Night,’ ‘What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life’ and ‘It Might Be You’
    Wrote the theme songs for Maude, Good Times and Alice
    Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1980)

Why they might be annoying:

    Although they grew up near each other in Brooklyn, they did not meet until they moved to Los Angeles and began collaborating separately with songwriter Lew Spence, who eventually suggested that the three of them work together.
    Marilyn began writing songs after deciding she lacked the discipline to become a concert pianist.
    They studied Orthodox Judaism for a year before writing the songs for ‘Yentl.’
    They are both lyricists and thus usually collaborate with other writers, a process Marilyn likened to ‘three people having a baby.’

Why they might not be annoying:

    They have been married for over 50 years.
    In 1982, they became the first writers to have three tunes nominated for the Oscar for Best Song: ‘It Might Be You’ from Tootsie, ‘How Do You Keep the Music Playing?’ from Best Friends, and ‘If We Were in Love’ from Yes, Giorgio.
    Marilyn was the first woman to serve on the board of ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), eventually becoming president and chairman of the board (1994-2009).
    She was also the first chair of the Library of Congress’ National Sound Recording Preservation Board (2002).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying