David moved to Houston with his family in 1964 and spent his senior year at Lamar High School. From there he went to the University of Texas, graduating from the Radio, TV, and Film program. David ran Cinema 40, the on-campus film society, for several years, presenting to Austin’s film community the best of cutting-edge foreign and experimental films.

It was also at the University of Texas where David met his true love and life partner, Ellen Trew. They had a small wedding in 1968 in Eastwoods Park, and as testimony to both David and Ellen, many of the attendees are still dear friends and are grieving David’s passing.

After marrying, David and Ellen lived in Austin, Brooklyn, New York and Brownsville, Texas before moving to Houston in 1972 where David started Berman Films, a commercial film production company where he directed independent feature films, documentaries, corporate and public service projects for arts and nonprofit organizations, and countless commercials for regional and national brands. David often worked with Houston sports legends such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Jose Cruz, and with other personalities such as Red Adair. He also directed socially conscious documentaries such as “The Strange Demise of Jim Crow,” which revealed the behind-the scenes negotiations, secret deals, and controversial news blackouts that contributed to the nonviolent desegregation of Houston. David was a beloved leader among his casts, crews, and clients. One of his greatest joys was sharing his knowledge and creating jobs and opportunities for aspiring young filmmakers, artists, and technicians. The Berman Films people have remained in his life, many of them as close friends.

David and Ellen’s beloved daughter, Sarah Ellen Berman, was born in 1973 and died in 1990. Being her compassionate and proud father contributed to shaping David into the man he was.

David semi-retired in the late ‘90s, and he and Ellen moved to the countryside near Wimberley in 1997 where he lived with great pleasure until 2024. He grew tomatoes, somewhat competitively, and he proudly showed off his rainwater collection system to anyone who was interested. In 2000 David opened dberman Gallery in Austin, an art gallery specializing in contemporary regional painting, sculpture, and photography. During its ten years of existence, dberman Gallery exhibited a roster of prestigious artists; it was a robust, welcome, and respected addition to the Austin and Texas contemporary

art scene.

As a teenager David came to love baroque music and American folk and blues, and he was a music lover his entire life. David was also an avid reader, an enthusiastic diner, a gifted cat-napper, and he was justifiably proud that he ran four marathons, including New York. As a morning ritual he and Ellen worked the NY Times puzzles together. Throughout his life he traveled the world widely and well, both hitchhiking and going first-class.

David Berman was gentle, shrewd, funny, utterly fearless, quick to laugh, skeptical, kind, and generous, giving not only to his friends, but also providing financial support to organizations championing human rights, the arts and arts education, and environmental causes, and to medical research into neurological diseases. He was a trustworthy friend and devoted husband who leaves behind a wide community of loving friends who already miss him too much, orneriness and all.

David died on September 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas from brain cancer, which he faced with courage and grace.