AceShowbiz - Jeremy Larner, the acclaimed screenwriter who won an Oscar for The Candidate (1972), has passed away at the age of 88.

His son, Jesse Larner, informed The New York Times that his father died on February 24 in a nursing home located in Oakland, California. While he had been diagnosed with lymphoma in January and had been living with Parkinson’s disease since 2013, the exact cause of death has not been confirmed.

Born on March 20, 1937, in Olean, New York, Jeremy Larner graduated from Brandeis University in 1958. During the 1960s, he published several books, including his debut novel Drive, He Said in 1964, which was later adapted into a 1971 film directed and co-written by Jack Nicholson.

In addition to his literary work, Jeremy Larner was a journalist contributing to publications such as Harper’s, The Paris Review, and Life. His political involvement included serving as a speechwriter for Eugene McCarthy during the 1968 presidential campaign, an experience that inspired his book Nobody Knows, serialized in Harper’s magazine in 1969.

This political engagement also influenced Jeremy Larner’s script for the film The Candidate, directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Robert Redford as Bill McKay, a leftist lawyer who rises to prominence while running for the U.S. Senate. The screenplay earned Jeremy Larner the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Throughout his career, Jeremy Larner also crafted speeches for notable figures such as politician Bill Bradley, activist Sam Brown, as well as actors and activists Paul Newman and Robert Redford. His speeches often addressed issues like the Vietnam War and environmental concerns.

Jeremy Larner’s passing follows the death of Robert Redford, the star of The Candidate, who died at age 89 in September.