Ernest Lehman

Ernest Lehman, a six-time Oscar nominee whose screenwriting and production credits include such classics as " North by Northwest, " " West Side Story " and " The Sound of Music, " has died. He was 89.

Mr. Lehman died of an undisclosed illness Saturday at University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, according to a statement posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Writers Guild of America, West.

Guild President Daniel Petrie Jr. lauded Mr. Lehman as " a creative giant among writers and within the industry " for his work on a host of famous movie and musical scripts.

" Adept at tackling a wide range of genres, his unforgettable contributions to the craft of screenwriting helped define what we ' ve come to know as American film, " Petrie said.

Mr. Lehman ' s career began in 1954 with " Executive Suite, " and went on to span a variety of genres. He received four Academy Award nominations for screenwriting for " North by Northwest, " " West Side Story, " " Who ' s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? " and " Sabrina " and two Oscar nominations as a producer, for " Hello, Dolly! " and " Virginia Woolf. "

Among Mr. Lehman ' s other screenwriting credits are " Sweet Smell of Success, " " The King and I, " " From the Terrace, " " The Prize, " " Hello, Dolly! " " Portnoy ' s Complaint " and " Black Sunday. "

Mr. Lehman, who received five Writers Guild of America awards and nine WGA nominations, received the guild ' s prestigious Screen Laurel Award in 1972.

In 2001, he became the first screenwriter to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Upon accepting his honorary Oscar in 2001, Mr. Lehman told the audience:

" I accept this rarest of honors on behalf of screenwriters everywhere, but especially those in the Writers Guild of America. We have suffered anonymity far too often. I appeal to all movie critics and feature writers to please always bear in mind that a film production begins and ends with a screenplay. "

Born in New York, Mr. Lehman studied creative writing at City College of New York before working as a copywriter for a Broadway theater publicist, an experience he tapped in writing his novella and the screenplay for " Sweet Smell of Success. "

He sold his first story, " Double-Cross, " to Liberty magazine in 1943 and spent the next 10 years writing stories, novellas and radio comedy, and editing a financial magazine. After his short story " The Comedian " appeared in Collier ' s in 1953, he was brought to Hollywood by Paramount.

Mr. Lehman is survived by his wife, Laurie; their son, Jonathan; his sons Roger and Alan from his late first wife, Jackie; and two grandchildren.