Bo Goldman

Source: Maryemark (public domain)

Bo Goldman

Bo Goldman, the admired Hollywood screenwriter who won Oscars for his One Flew Over The Cukoo’s Nest and Melvin And Howard scripts, has died in California, aged 90. 

According to the New York Times, Goldman’s death was confirmed by his son-in-law, director Todd Field. 

Born in New York City and educated at Princeton, Goldman began his career as a Broadway lyricist before becoming a television writer. 

His original script for Shoot The Moon brought him to the attention of director Milos Forman, who asked Goldman to adapt Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest for the big screen. The resulting 1975 Jack Nicholson feature won Goldman the adapted screenplay Academy Award and took several other Oscars, including the best picture prize. 

After the success of Cuckoo’s Nest, Goldman wrote the scripts for The Rose and Jonathan Demme’s Melvin and Howard, which won him the original screenplay Oscar in 1981. His Shoot The Moon script was eventually filmed in 1982 by the British filmmaking team of director Alan Parker and producer Alan Marshall. 

Goldman’s more recent scripts included those for Scent Of A Woman, City Hall and Meet Joe Black

In 1998 he won the Writers Guild of America Laurel Award for screenwriting achievement. 

Most recently, Goldman did an uncredited re-write on 2000 hit The Perfect Storm and earned a story writing credit on Warren Beatty’s Rules Don’t Apply.