Eric Lee Bergren (April 27, 1954 – July 14, 2016) was an American screenwriter.

Early life and career

Bergren was born 1954 in Pasadena, California. He studied theatre arts at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. Based on works of Frederick Treves and

Ashley Montagu Montague Francis Ashley-Montagu (June 28, 1905November 26, 1999) — born Israel Ehrenberg — was a British-American anthropologist who popularized the study of topics such as race and gender and their relation to politics and development. He ...

about

Joseph Merrick Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

, Bergren wrote the script for the 1980 film ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then we ...

'' together with director David Lynch and fellow screenwriter Christopher De Vore. At the

53rd Academy Awards The 53rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1980 and took place on March 31, 1981, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 7:00 p ...

, Bergren, Lynch and De Vore were nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay Film adaptation, adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include st ...

. It was also nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay The Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Winners and nominees 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also * Aca ...

, the

BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay The BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay is a British Academy Film Award for the best script. It was awarded from 1968 to 1982. In 1983 it was split into BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay and BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. 1960s * 1968 ...

and the

Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the three screenwriting Writers Guild of America Awards, focused specifically for film. The Writers Guild of America began making the distinction between an original screenpl ...

. Together with Christopher De Vore and

Nicholas Kazan Nicholas Kazan (; born September 15, 1945) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. Early life Kazan was born in New York, the son of Greek-American director Elia Kazan and his first wife, playwright Molly Kazan (née Mary Da ...

, Bergren also wrote the script for ''

Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

'', a biopic about American actress and television host Frances Farmer. In 1988, he directed the short film ''...They Haven't Seen This...'', based on his own script.

Death

Bergren died on July 14, 2016, aged 62, in Pasadena due to complications from

stage 4 Stage 4 may refer to: * Key Stage 4 * ''Stage 4'' of ''Everywhere at the End of Time'' * Cambrian Stage 4 * Stage 4 cancer * Stage 4 CKD * Dual-Stage 4-Grid * Stage 4 of Braak staging * Decomposition stage 4 * Whale fall stage 4 * 2019–20 Bi ...

liver cancer, which had been diagnosed a few months earlier. He was survived by his ex-wife, Sheila Condit, and two daughters Erin Condit-Bergren and Elysse Condit.

Filmography

* 1980: ''

'' * 1982: ''

'' * 1988: ''...They Haven't Seen This...'' (short) * 1991: ''

The Dark Wind ''The Dark Wind'' is the fifth crime fiction novel in the Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman, published in 1982. It is the second of the novels to feature Officer Jim Chee. Now working from Tuba City, Sgt. Chee ...

'' * 1998: ''Little Girl Fly Away'' (TV film)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergren, Eric 1954 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American screenwriters American male screenwriters Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from liver cancer People from Pasadena, California Screenwriters from California 20th-century American male writers