James Toback

James Toback (b. November 23, 1944 in New York City) is a screenwriter and film director. He was a Harvard graduate who intended to become a novelist, but turned to journalism. Given an assignment for an article on football star Jim Brown, he instead wrote the 1971 book Jim about the man. His first screenplay was the semi-autobiographical The Gambler (1974), drawing on his experiences as a college professor and a compulsive gambler.

Related Topics:
November 23 - 1944 - New York City - Screenwriter - Film director - Harvard - Jim Brown - The Gambler

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Toback entered the realm of directing with the 1978 film Fingers, for which he also wrote the screenplay. Viewers and critics of the 1980s were not kind to Toback's films ? Love and Money (1982) and The Pick-Up Artist (1987)

Related Topics:
Fingers - Love and Money - The Pick-Up Artist

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His comeback in the 1990s started with the documentary The Big Bang, which he followed up with Bugsy (1991), Two Girls and a Guy (1997), Black and White (1999), and Harvard Man (2001).

Related Topics:
The Big Bang - Bugsy - Two Girls and a Guy - Black and White - Harvard Man

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Toback, born into a well-to-do family, was married to Consuelo Sarah Churchill Vanderbilt Russell, the granddaughter of the tenth Duke of Marlborough.

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