R.I.P.

Buck Henry, ‘The Graduate’ Screenwriter, Dies at 89

The legendary screenwriter’s death from a heart attack has prompted an outpouring of tributes.

Buck Henry, the Oscar nominated screenwriter behind The Graduate and co-creator of Get Smart, died Wednesday night of a heart attack at age 89, Deadline reports. A family member told Deadline that he died at Cedars-Sinai Health Center in Los Angeles. Henry won an Emmy for writing Get Smart along with co-creator Mel Brooks in 1968. He was also nominated for an Oscar for his adapted screenplay of The Graduate, and for directing the 1978 film Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty. Henry got his start writing TV shows in the 60s before writing The Graduate, which scored seven Oscar nominations. He had over three dozen other acting credits before he was chosen to host Saturday Night Live in its first season in 1976. He continued to host the show several times during the show’s next four seasons.