Eric Bercovici
| Eric Bercovici | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 27, 1933 New York City, United States |
| Died |
February 9, 2014 (aged 80) Kaneohe, Hawaii, United States |
| Occupation | TV and film producer, screenwriter |
| Known for | Shōgun |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | Three |
Eric Bercovici (February 27, 1933 – February 9, 2014) was an American television/film producer and screenwriter. He was best known for producing and adapting the screenplay for the 1980 television miniseries Shōgun.[1][2]
Born in New York City in 1933 to screenwriter Leonardo Bercovici, he studied theater at Yale University. His career had barely begun when his father was blacklisted from the late 1940s through the late 1950s. Eric Bercovici then went to Europe to work on films, returning to the U.S. in 1965. He then began writing episodes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and The Danny Thomas Hour. He wrote the screenplays for the 1968 films Hell in the Pacific and Day of the Evil Gun. In the 1970s, he wrote episodes for Hawaii Five-O and created the series Assignment Vienna and its pilot Assignment: Munich. In 1977, he adapted John Ehrlichman's novel, The Company, into a miniseries titled Washington: Behind Closed Doors.[1][2]
In 1980, Bercovici adapted James Clavell's 1975 novel, Shōgun, about an English seaman marooned in 17th century Japan, into a nine-hour miniseries of the same name. He was also a producer of the series. Shōgun won three of its 14 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Miniseries,[3] and all three of its Golden Globe nominations, including Best TV Series – Drama.[2] At the time, it was also one of the highest-rated miniseries in television history, second only to Roots.[1]
Bercovici would finish out the 1980s and his writing/producing career for such series as McClain's Law, Chicago Story and Noble House, also based on a Clavell novel.[2] When not writing screenplays, Bercovici wrote crime novels.[1]
Personal life
Eric Bercovici was the son of famous screenwriter Leonardo Bercovici (1908-1995). His father also directed and produced three feature films.
In February 2014, he died of a heart attack at his home in Kaneohe, Hawaii. He was 80. He was survived by his wife, Chiho Adachi, whom he met while making Shōgun, and three sons from previous marriages, Musician/Composer/Producer Jacob Bercovici, and Producer/Engineer Hilary Bercovici and Writer/Actor/Director Luca Bercovici.[1][2] He was formerly married to actress Karen Berger.