Remembering Jeremy Larner: Celebrated Writer of Oscar-Winning ‘The Candidate’ Passes Away at 88
Jeremy Larner, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind *The Candidate* (1972), has passed away at the age of 88.
His son, Jesse Larner, confirmed to *The New York Times* that he died on February 24 at a nursing facility in Oakland, California. Jeremy Larner had been diagnosed with lymphoma in January and had suffered from Parkinson’s disease since 2013, though the specific cause of death has yet to be determined.
Born on March 20, 1937, in Olean, New York, Larner graduated from Brandeis University in 1958. He authored several books during the 1960s, including his debut novel *Drive, He Said* (1964), which was adapted into a film by co-writer and director Jack Nicholson in 1971. In addition to fiction, Larner contributed to publications such as *Harpers*, *The Paris Review*, and *Life*.
Larner served as a speechwriter for Eugene McCarthy during the presidential campaign of 1968, an experience that inspired his book *Nobody Knows*, serialized in *Harpers* in 1969.
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This political backdrop also informed his script for *The Candidate*, directed by Michael Ritchie, which featured Robert Redford as Bill McKay, a leftist lawyer who rises to fame while being groomed for a Senate seat. The film earned Larner the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Throughout his career, Larner also crafted speeches for figures such as Bill Bradley, activist Sam Brown, and actors Paul Newman and Robert Redford, addressing crucial issues like the Vietnam War and environmentalism.
Larner’s passing follows the recent death of Robert Redford, who died at the age of 89 in September.
