# David Newman (screenwriter)

David Newman (February 4, 1937 – June 27, 2003) was an American screenwriter. From the late 1960s through the early 1980s he frequently collaborated with Robert Benton. He was married to fellow writer Leslie Newman, with whom he had two children, until his death in 2003 from a stroke.

## Career

Newman studied at the University of Michigan. He went to work at Esquire magazine where he met Robert Benton. The two of them wrote Bonnie and Clyde which made them highly in demand in Hollywood. From the University of Michigan GARGAlum Newsletter, 2002: "David Newman, 1958 University of Michigan humor magazine Gargoyle editor, has been nominated for the Academy Award, won the New York Film Critics Award, the National Society of Film Critics Award, and three Writers Guild of America Awards for various screen plays including Bonnie & Clyde [and] Superman … among many others. David received his BA and MA at U of M where he twice won the Avery Hopwood Award. David became an editor at Esquire Magazine. He co-created the Dubious Achievement Awards. He took pride in having coined the phrase: 'Why is this man laughing?' and wished he had copyrighted it."
When Benton became a director, Newman started collaborating with his wife Leslie.

## Works
### Films

| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes |
| 1967 | Bonnie and Clyde | Written by | Co-written with Robert Benton |
| 1970 | There Was a Crooked Man... | Written by | Co-written with Robert Benton |
| 1972 | What's Up, Doc? | Screenplay by | Story written by Peter Bogdanovich Screenplay со-written with Robert Benton and Buck Henry |
| 1972 | Bad Company | Written by | Co-written with Robert Benton |
| 1977 | La fille d'Amérique | Directed by, written by | Co-written with Leslie Newman |
| 1978 | Superman | Screenplay by | Based on character (Superman) created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Story written by Mario Puzo Screenplay co-written with Robert Benton, Leslie Newman and Mario Puzo |
| 1980 | Superman II | Screenplay by | Based on character (Superman) created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Story written by Mario Puzo Screenplay co-written with Leslie Newman and Mario Puzo |
| 1982 | Jinxed! | Screenplay by | Story written by Frank D. Gilroy (credited as "Bert Blessing") Screenplay co-written with Frank D. Gilroy (credited as "Bert Blessing") |
| 1982 | Still of the Night | Story by | Story co-written with Robert Benton Screenplay written by Robert Benton |
| 1983 | Superman III | Screenplay by | Based on character (Superman) created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Screenplay co-written with Leslie Newman |
| 1984 | Sheena | Story by, screenplay by | Story co-written with Leslie Stevens Screenplay co-written with Lorenzo Semple Jr. |
| 1985 | Santa Claus: The Movie | Story by, screenplay by | Story co-written with Leslie Newman Screenplay written by David Newman |
| 1987 | R.О.Т.О.R. | Associate producer | |
| 1988 | Moonwalker | Screenplay by (segment: "Smooth Criminal") | Story for segment "Smooth Criminal" written by Michael Jackson Screenplay for segment "Smooth Criminal" written by David Newman |
| 2000 | Track Down | Screenplay by | Based on book written by Tsutomu Shimomura and John Markoff Screenplay co-written with Leslie Newman, Howard A. Rodman and John Danza |
| 2006 | Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut | Screenplay by | Based on character (Superman) created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Story written by Mario Puzo Screenplay co-written with Leslie Newman and Mario Puzo |

### Theatrical stage

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1966 | It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman | Libretto co-written with Robert Benton Adaptation in television film (1975) |
| 1969 | Oh! Calcutta! | Libretto co-written with Robert Benton, Jules Feiffer, Dan Greenburg, John Lennon, Jacques Levy, Sam Shepard, Leonard Melfi, Kenneth Tynan, Margo Sappington, Clovis Trouille and Sherman Yellen Adaptation in theatrical film (1972) |