No Way Out screenwriter Robert Garland, who also worked on Tootsie and Pretty Woman, dies at age 83 from complications from dementia
Hollywood screenwriter Robert Garland has died at the age of 83 in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Brooklyn native was best known as the screenwriter of the 1987 thriller No Way Out which starred Kevin Costner as Navy Lt Tom Farrell who becomes intrigued with a socialite played by Sean Young.
And the college graduate also penned the critically acclaimed 1979 film The Electric Horseman with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.
A sad loss: Hollywood screenwriter Robert Garland has died at the age of 83 in Baltimore, Maryland. Seen in the 1990s
A nail biter: The Brooklyn native was best known as the screenwriter of the 1987 thriller No Way Out which starred Kevin Costner as a possible spy who becomes intrigued with a socialite played by Sean Young
His son Michael Garland, an attorney in Washington DC, said the cause of death was ‘complications from dementia,’ according to a Monday report from Deadline.
Garland had been retired since the 1990s and had often traveled throughout France and Italy, it was added.
The veteran writer also worked on the scripts for the 1982 Dustin Hoffman comedy Tootsie as well as Julia Roberts’ smash hit, 1990’s Pretty Woman.
Dynamic duo: And the college graduate also penned the critically acclaimed 1979 film The Electric Horseman with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford
He got his start writing jokes on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson in the 1960s.
Then he moved on to scripted TV shows such as the winning sitcom That Girl with Marlo Thomas, which aired from 1966 until 1971.
After that he wrote two episodes of Love American Style which featured comedians Stuart Margolin and Barbara Mimkus.
And Robert also worked on The Bill Cosby Show in the early 1970s; it was Bill’s first TV show.
A trend: He got his start writing on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. Then he moved on to TV shows such as That Girl with Marlo Thomas (pictured), which aired from 1966 until 1971
Robert also crafted episodes of Sanford And Son, which had its run from 1972 until 1977; the stars of that sitcom were Red Foxx and Desmond Wilson.
In 1979, Garland wrote the screenplay for The Electric Horseman, starring Fonda and Redford, who had worked before together on the Neil Simon classic Barefoot In The Park.
His biggest commercial hit, however was 1987’s No Way Out, which was full of suspense and featured Costner at the height of his career.
From 1982: Robert was brought on board in an uncredited move to add sparkle to Tootsie which was full of one liners
The film was based on the Kenneth Fearing’s novel The Big Clock from 1946.
The movie was known for its racy love scenes between Costner and pinup Young; also featured was Gene Hackman in a pivotal role. Robert served as one of the film’s producers.
Next the wordsmith worked on Luc Besson’s 1988 classic The Big Blue, which was about the friendly competition between free divers; the stars were Jean Reno and Rosanna Arquette.
Robert was brought on board in an uncredited move to add sparkle to Tootsie which was full of one liners and clever sight gags.
And he added some of the better lines to the blockbuster Pretty Woman, which was originally dark story about prostitution in Hollywood in a script from JF Lawton but was dramatically altered to be more lighthearted.
His magic touched this love story: He added some of the better lines to the 1990 blockbuster Pretty Woman, which was originally dark story about prostitution in LA in a script from JF Lawton but was dramatically altered to be more lighthearted