Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Jeremy Larner Dies at 88
Jeremy Larner Passes Away
Jeremy Larner, renowned for winning an Oscar for his screenplay of The Candidate, has died at the age of 88. His son confirmed that Larner passed away on February 24 at a nursing home in Oakland, California. Although he was diagnosed with lymphoma in January and had been living with Parkinson's disease since 2013, the exact cause of his death has not been disclosed, according to reports.
In addition to his acclaimed work on The Candidate, Larner adapted his own 1964 novel Drive, He Said into a film in 1971, which marked Jack Nicholson's directorial debut.
A Glimpse into Jeremy Larner's Life
Jeremy Larner's Early Life and Career
Born on March 20, 1937, in Olean, New York, Larner graduated from Brandeis University in 1958. He authored several books during the 1960s and worked as a journalist for notable publications such as Harper's, The Paris Review, and Life. Additionally, he served as a speechwriter for Eugene McCarthy during the 1968 presidential campaign, an experience that inspired his book Nobody Knows, which was serialized in Harper's the following year.
This campaign experience significantly influenced his screenplay for The Candidate, a film that starred Robert Redford as Bill McKay, a left-leaning lawyer. The film earned Larner an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Legacy of Jeremy Larner
Contributions to Film and Politics
After the success of Nobody Knows: Reflections on the McCarthy Campaign, which gained popularity when serialized in Harper’s magazine in 1969, Larner was approached by Redford and director Michael Ritchie to pen the script for The Candidate. In this Warner Bros. film, Redford portrays the ambitious young liberal Bill McKay, who is encouraged by a political consultant to challenge the Republican incumbent for a Senate seat in California.
In interviews, Larner reflected on his unique qualifications for the project, noting that he was among the few writers with experience in political speechwriting. Over the years, he also crafted speeches for various political figures, including Bill Bradley and Paul Newman.