Marshall Brickman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter best known for Annie Hall, passed away at 85, his daughter Sophie announced in Manhattan. No cause of death was given. Brickman, who collaborated with Woody Allen on films like Sleeper (1973), Annie Hall (1977), and Manhattan (1979), won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Annie Hall. He described the film as capturing “what it was like to be alive in New York at that time.” Born in Rio de Janeiro to Jewish socialist parents and raised in Brooklyn, Brickman studied chemistry and music at the University of Wisconsin before embarking on a creative career spanning film, television, and Broadway.
Brickman contributed to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Candid Camera, and The Muppet Show, and co-wrote the iconic musical Jersey Boys with Rick Elice. He also directed films like Simon (1980) and The Manhattan Project (1986). Earlier, he helped create the Deliverance soundtrack hit “Dueling Banjos” and performed with the Tarriers. Brickman is survived by his wife, Nina, daughters Sophie and Jessica, and five grandchildren.