Eric Segal, author of 'Love Story', an iconic narrative that has dominated the bestseller charts for four decades now, died of the Parkinson's disease, an affliction he had been battling for 25 years, on January 17, aged 72.

Born on June 16, 1937, in Brooklyn, N. Y., to a Rabbi, Eric had a natural proficiency for languages. He earned his Bachelor's Degree from Harvard in 1958, a master's degree in classics in 1959 and a doctorate in Comparative Literature in 1965. He was then a Greek and Roman literature professor at Yale University.

The unlikely author of a heart - wrenching tale of star crossed lovers was catapulted to fame following the phenomenal success of 'Love Story'. The book which though, went on to become a 1970 Oscar winning film starring Ryan O' Neal and Ali MacGraw, wasn't very well received on the critical front.

The Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, followed the success of 'Love Story' with several bestsellers, 'Oliver's Story', 'Man, Woman, and Child', 'The Class' and 'Doctors'. He also created the screenplay for the Beatles' animated venture 'Yellow Submarine'.

Mr. Segal is survived by daughters Francesca, 29, and Miranda, 20 and wife Karen James who eulogized, "was the most dogged man any of us will ever know".