Erich Segal, whose razor-thin romance novel
Love Story became a pop culture phenomenon, has died at age 72 from a heart attack in London. Segal's modest story about two love-struck Harvard college students resonated with a generation that was beset by civil unrest and the protest movement. The story is the ultimate soap opera, with the lead female character developing a terminal illness. Still, Segal's skillful prose tore at women's heartstrings and elevated the book to being a publishing sensation. Segal wrote the screenplay for the 1970 big screen adaptation which was a massive box-office hit and scored key Oscar nominations for the principals involved and elevated Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw to stardom. The film's tag-line "Love means never having to say you're sorry" is still widely quoted today, though often in a satiric context. Segal, who also wrote the screenplay for The Beatles'
Yellow Submarine, never enjoyed success on this level again. His sequel to
Love Story, titled
Oliver's Story, didn't approach the kind of sales that the first book did and a screen version starring Ryan O'Neal was neither a box-office or critical success. Segal continued to write the occasional screenplay but his name remains synonymous with
Love Story. For more
click here