Bo Goldman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bo Goldman
Goldman in 1975
Born	Robert Goldman (1932-09-10)September 10, 1932 New York City, U.S.
Died	July 25, 2023(2023-07-25) (aged 90) Helendale, California, U.S.
Education	Princeton University
Occupation	Screenwriter playwright
Years active	1958–2016
Spouse(s)	Mab Ashforth ​ ​ (m. 1954; died 2017)​
Children	6

Robert "Bo" Goldman (September 10, 1932 – July 25, 2023) was an American writer who created stories for movies and plays. He won many important awards, including two Academy Awards (also known as Oscars), two Golden Globe Awards, and two Writers Guild of America Awards. In 1998, he received a special award for his lifetime achievements in screenwriting. He was also nominated twice for a BAFTA Award.

Bo Goldman won his two Academy Awards for writing the screenplays (movie scripts) for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Melvin and Howard (1980). He also wrote other well-known movies like The Rose (1979), Shoot the Moon (1982), Scent of a Woman (1992), and Meet Joe Black (1998).

Early Life and Education

Robert Goldman was born in New York City. His father, Julian Goldman, was a Broadway producer, which means he helped create and fund plays. Julian also owned a chain of department stores. He was one of the first to offer "time payments," which allowed customers to pay for things over time. Julian loved the theatre and often supported new Broadway shows.

Young Bo Goldman often went with his father to see plays, sometimes two shows a week! This made him want to work in theatre when he grew up. He started his education at the Dalton School. Later, he went to Phillips Exeter Academy, a famous boarding school. His time there later inspired a movie script he wrote called Scent of a Woman.

Bo Goldman then attended Princeton University. There, he was very involved with the Princeton Triangle Club, a student group known for its musical comedies. He wrote, produced, and even composed songs for their shows. One of his shows, Ham 'n Legs, was even shown on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was a big deal for a college production!

Military Service

After finishing college, Goldman joined the U.S. Army for three years. He was stationed on Enewetak, an island in the Marshall Islands. This island was used for testing nuclear bombs. He worked there as a personnel sergeant.

Career in Writing

Early Work in Broadway and TV (1959–1974)

After his time in the army, Goldman started working on Broadway. He wrote the song lyrics for a musical called First Impressions (1959). Even though it had famous actors, the show didn't run for very long. For a few years, he tried to get another show produced, but it didn't happen.

Goldman was now married and had four young children, so he needed a steady job. He found work in the new world of live television at CBS. He learned a lot from a famous TV producer named Fred Coe. Goldman became an associate producer and script editor for important shows like Playhouse 90. He later produced and wrote for public television. A famous actor, Burt Lancaster, encouraged Goldman to try writing for movies. This led to an early version of the script for Shoot the Moon. Soon, Goldman became known for writing some of the best movie scripts of the 1970s and 80s.

Becoming Famous (1975–1990)

After reading Goldman's script for Shoot the Moon, director Miloš Forman asked him to write the screenplay for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. This movie won all five of the top Academy Awards, including an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Goldman. This was a rare achievement, as only one other film had done this since 1934! Goldman also won a Writers Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award for his work on the film.

Next, Goldman wrote The Rose (1979), which was nominated for four Academy Awards. Then came his original screenplay, Melvin and Howard (1980). This movie earned Goldman his second Oscar, another Writers Guild Award, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Screenplay of the Year.

His earlier script, Shoot the Moon, was finally made into a movie by director Alan Parker. It starred Diane Keaton and Albert Finney. The film was praised by many movie critics. However, due to a special agreement, the movie was released without much attention. Even so, Goldman's fellow writers remembered his great work, and he was nominated for his third Writers Guild Award.

Shoot the Moon was highly praised by critics like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert. It still has a perfect 100% score on the critic website Rotten Tomatoes.

Bo Goldman (center) with other writers during a strike in 1981.

For several years, Goldman also helped improve many movie scripts without getting official credit. These included Ragtime (1981) and Dick Tracy (1990).

Later Work (1992–2016)

Goldman then wrote Scent of a Woman (1992). This earned him his second Golden Globe Award and his third Academy Award nomination. In the movie, Al Pacino plays Frank Slade, a blind, retired army colonel. Goldman said he based this character on someone he knew from his time in the army. Al Pacino won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for this role. Critics loved the movie and especially praised Goldman's writing. Roger Ebert said, "The screenplay is by Bo Goldman (Melvin and Howard), who is more interested in the people than the plot. By the end of "Scent of a Woman," we have arrived at the usual conclusion of the coming-of-age movie, and the usual conclusion of the prep school movie. But rarely have we been taken there with so much intelligence and skill." The film has an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

After this, Goldman wrote City Hall (1996), also starring Al Pacino. Then came Meet Joe Black (1998), starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. Some critics thought this movie was too slow.

In 2000, Goldman did an uncredited rewrite of the script for The Perfect Storm. His changes helped the movie get made and convinced George Clooney to star in it. The film went on to earn a lot of money.

Influence on Other Writers

Many people in the film industry looked up to Bo Goldman. Screenwriter Eric Roth (who wrote movies like Forrest Gump) said in 1998 that Goldman was "the pre-eminent screenwriter – in my mind as good as it gets." Roth admired Goldman's varied and intelligent work, from Cuckoo's Nest to Shoot the Moon, which he called "the best divorce movie ever made."

In 2017, Roth again praised Goldman, saying that his work made the biggest impression on him. He described Goldman's writing as having "audacious originality," a good understanding of society, and a clever sense of humor. He said Goldman's words were "silk, never wasted or misplaced."

Personal Life and Death

Bo Goldman lived near Rockland, Maine, with his daughter, Serena, and his son-in-law, filmmaker Todd Field. He married Mab Ashforth in 1954. They were married for 63 years until she passed away in 2017.

Bo Goldman died in Helendale, California, on July 25, 2023, at the age of 90.

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Bo Goldman para niños