<Tr> <Th> Parent (s) </Th> <Td> Bernhardt Tiede and Lela Mae Jester </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Conviction (s) </Th> <Td> First - degree murder </Td> </Tr> <P> Bernhardt "Bernie" Tiede II (/ ˈtiːd /; born August 2, 1958) is an American mortician and convicted murderer . Tiede confessed to the shooting of a wealthy 81 - year - old widow, Marjorie "Marge" Nugent, in Carthage, Texas on November 19, 1996 . The murder is the subject of the 2011 film Bernie, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Jack Black as Tiede . </P> <P> Bernhardt Tiede II is the son of Bernhardt Tiede (1912--1973), a native of Olgenow, Russia (previously Ukraine) of German descent who had immigrated with his family to the United States in 1926 . Bernhardt Tiede (Sr .) had served as a professor of music and choral director at Our Lady of the Lake College (now Our Lady of the Lake University) in San Antonio, Texas (1946--1948), at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas (1948--1957), at Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas (1957--1968), and then at McMurry College (now McMurry University) in Abilene, Texas, where he served as director of the McMurry Chanters, the position he held until his death in 1973 . In addition to his work as a university professor, the elder Tiede also served as church music director and as a vocal performer . Bernie Tiede's mother was Bernhardt Tiede Sr.'s first wife, Lela Mae Jester (1933--1960). They were married in 1957, and Bernie was born in the next year . But Bernie's mother died in an automobile accident when he was two years old . In 1963 his father married Clara Kathryn Wiley (b . 1938), who became Bernie's stepmother . His father died in Abilene, Texas when Bernie was fifteen . Bernie Tiede graduated from Cooper High School (Abilene, Texas) in 1976 . </P>

The movie bernie based on a true story