Author Marjorie Kellogg dead at 83

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Author Marjorie Kellogg, who wrote the novel and screenplay for "Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon," has died in Santa Barbara at age 83.

Kellogg died at her home Dec. 19 of complications from Alzheimer's disease, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Kellogg said many of her stories came from her experience as a New York social worker in the 1960s.

Her 1968 novel "Junie Moon" was about an abused woman who meets two disabled men while she is hospitalized with severe burns. They move in together and become a family.

Otto Preminger directed the film starring Liza Minnelli and Ken Howard.

Kellogg's 1972 novel, "Like the Lion's Tooth," was about three emotionally disturbed children. She also penned the screen adaptation of Sylvia Plath's novel "The Bell Jar."

Kellogg also wrote a number of plays focusing on mental and physical illness, the Times said. Most were produced off-Broadway in the 1970s and 1980s.

Kellogg is survived by her longtime companion, Sylvia Short.