Lawrence Roman, 86; wrote 20-plus films and teleplays
LOS ANGELES - Lawrence Roman, who was best known for writing the hit Broadway play "Under the Yum-Yum Tree" and for adapting the farce into the 1963 movie version, has died. He was 86.
Mr. Roman died last Sunday from a stroke complicated by kidney failure at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in suburban Woodland Hills, his family said.
In a screenwriting career that spanned 50 years, Mr. Roman wrote more than 20 films and teleplays, including a 1968 film adaptation of George Plimpton's "Paper Lion" and the original screenplay for "McQ," a 1974 film starring John Wayne.
After "Under the Yum-Yum Tree" debuted on Broadway in 1960, The
In the film version, Jack Lemmon starred as the landlord who tries to seduce his tenant, played by Carol Lynley, who lives with her fiancé.
"For the time, the play was very progressive, since it showed an unmarried man and woman living together," said Mr. Roman's daughter, Catherine. "It was very important to him to stay on top of what was current, socially and politically. That's what gave his career longevity as he aged."
Mr. Roman was born in Jersey City to Russian immigrants, Isadore Irving and Bessie Dora Roman, and moved to Los Angeles with his family in the 1930s. His family owned the Roman Markets grocery store chain.
While attending the University of California, Los Angeles, Mr. Roman took a comedy-writing class with Edgar Bergen, who briefly hired him to write jokes for his radio show, according to the Los Angeles Daily News in 1993.
Mr. Roman's teleplays included the adaptation of Norman Cousins' autobiography, "Anatomy of an Illness," a 1984 CBS movie with Ed Asner. Two other plays by Mr. Roman made it to Broadway. The comedy "P.S. I Love You" opened briefly in 1964, and 20 years later, "Alone Together" ran for almost three months.
In addition to his wife of 62 years, Evelyn, and daughter, Mr. Roman leaves a son, Steve, and a granddaughter.
