David Newman, a screenwriter and playwright best known for co-writing the screenplay to Bonnie and Clyde died on June 27 at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, five days after suffering a massive stroke. He was 66.

Newman was born on February 4, 1937, in New York City, the younger son of Herman Newman, a clothing manufacturer, and Rose Spatz Newman, a bookkeeper. He attended the University of Michigan, majoring in English; he earned a bachelor's degree in 1958 and a master's degree the next year. He went to work for Esquire in 1960, where he met Robert Benton, the magazine's art director. The two developed a friendship and began collaborating on a few projects, including their first hit, the gently satirical book for the Broadway musical comedy, It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman (1966), directed by Harold Prince. The following year Newman and Benton completed the screenplay for Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (1967), starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The film was first roasted by the critics for glorifying the sensation killers, but it won audiences (and eventually critics) over and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including a best screenplay nod for Newman.

Newman and Benton continued to create material for the stage: sketches for Kenneth Tynan's all-nude musical revue Oh! Calcutta! (1971); Tony Award nominated book to the Cy Coleman-Ira Gasman musical, The Life (1997); and films: Joseph L. Mankiewicz's satiric western There Was a Crooked Man (1970) starring Kirk Douglas; and Peter Bogdanovich's modern spin on '30s screwball comedies What's Up, Doc? (1972) with Ryan O'Neal and Barbara Streisand. Newman also collaborated with his wife, Leslie, for the Superman trilogy (1978-1983) starring Christopher Reeve and Morgot Kidder. He is survived by Leslie; son Nathan; daughter Catherine; and two grandchildren.

by Michael T. Toole