Gavin Lambert 

Screenwriter

By VARIETY STAFF

Two-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter Gavin Lambert died Sundayin Los Angeles from pulmonary fibrosis. He was 80.

Born in Sussex, England, Lambert was educated at Oxford University, and with Lindsay Anderson and others, founded the influential journal Sequence while still at Oxford.  He edited Sight and Sound magazine from 1949 to 1955, then wrote and directed "Another Sky," (1955), made in Morocco. He moved to Hollywood as director Nicholas Ray's assistant, co-writing Ray's 1957 "Bitter Victory."

He was nominated for a shared screenplay Oscar for D.H. Lawrence adaptation "Sons and Lovers" in 1960, and wrote "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone," adapting Tennessee Williams' novel.

As a British transplant to Hollywood, Lambert was known for his candid observations of the pleasures and pitfalls of stardom. His best-known novel, "Inside Daisy Clover," charts the mental collapse of an exploited teen star. He adapted his novel for the 1965 film starring Natalie Wood and Robert Redford. Another Oscar nomination came with his adaptation of teen mental illness drama "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" in 1977. His TV movie scripts include "Sweet Bird of Youth" and "Dead on the Money."

In later years, Lambert concentrated on bios of figures including George Cukor, Norma Shearer, Natalie Wood and Lindsay Anderson. He also contributed to Stephen Frears' docu "A Personal History of British Cinema." His most recent book was last year's "The Ivan Moffat File : Life Among the Beautiful and Damned in London, Paris, New York,and Hollywood."

He became an American citizen in 1964.

He is survived by a brother, a niece and a nephew.