The screenwriter passed away at his home in Woodland Hills, California on 5 June (15).

Winston served as an intern on Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and went on to write movies for television and feature films including She's Out of Control, Game Day and Get You Back.

He was best known for his short film Session Man, for which he won an Oscar in 1991.

In addition to his movie and TV work, Winston was a professor and lecturer at schools including Columbia College Hollywood, University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and American Film Institute's Conservatory Studies.