James Goldman

James Goldman (June 30, 1927 – October 28, 1998) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay The Lion in Winter (1968). His younger brother was novelist and screenwriter William Goldman. The first son of a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, Goldman grew up primarily in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He is most noted as the playwright of The Lion in Winter and for writing the screenplay of its 1968 film adaptation, for which he received an Academy Award. He also wrote the book for the Broadway musical Follies (1971), which was nominated for a Tony Award.

He attended the University of Chicago and Columbia University, earning a master’s degree and studying music criticism. In 1952, Goldman was drafted into the U.S. Army. After his discharge in 1954, he pursued a career as a playwright.

Goldman died in 1998 from a heart attack in New York City. He had lived there for many years.