Wrote uncredited revisions to the script for Warren Beatty's political comedy Bulworth (1998).
James Toback is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He was born in New York City on November 23, 1944, to a wealthy Jewish family. His father, Irwin, was a stockbroker and his mother, Selma, was a homemaker. Toback has two older sisters, Barbara and Beverly. He was educated at the prestigious Horace Mann School in New York City. Toback’s first job was as a journalist for The New York Times. He later worked as a freelance writer for Esquire magazine.
Toback’s first screenplay was for the film The Gambler (1974), which starred James Caan. The film was a critical and commercial success. Toback’s next screenplay was for the film Bugsy (1991), which starred Warren Beatty. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Toback’s other screenplays include The Pick-up Artist (1987) and Two Girls and a Guy (1997). Toback has also directed several films, including Fingers (1978), Love and Money (1982), The Pick-up Artist (1987), Two Girls and a Guy (1997), and Black and White (1998).
Toback’s films have often been controversial, but have also received critical acclaim. Toback has been married three times. His first wife was the actress Stella Stevens. His second wife was the model and actress Taryn Power. Toback has two daughters from his first marriage, Rachel and Elizabeth. ..
General Info
Full Name
James Toback
Date Of Birth
November 23, 1944
Profession
Screenwriter, Film producer, Film director, Actor
Education
Harvard University
Nationality
American
Family
Spouse
Stephanie Toback
Children
Andre Toback
Parents
Irwin Lionel Toback, Selma Judith Levy
Accomplishments
Awards
Un Certain Regard Knockout Prize
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture, Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay, Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay, National Society of Film C...
Movies
Seduced and Abandoned, The Pick-up Artist, Two Girls and a Guy, When Will I Be Loved, Fingers, Harvard Man, Tyson, Bugsy, The Gambler, Black and White, The Beat That My Heart Skipped, The Big Bang, Love and Money, Exposed, Giving It Up, Alice, Jim Brown: All-American
He had such a reputation as a ladies man, that a 1989 Spy magazine article detailed some of his conquests.
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Taught writing at the City College of New York (CCNY) in the early 1970s. The James Caan character in The Gambler (1974) was also a college teacher, a professor of English literature at New York University, though scenes from the movie were filmed at CCNY (now known as City University of New York).
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Toback's first successful screenplay, The Gambler (1974) is substantially autobiographical. For a long time, he was a compulsive gambler, albeit from a well-heeled New York garment-district family
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Graduated from Harvard University in 1966. In interviews, he always refers to the school as "Harvard College", as Harvard alumni who were undergraduates often do to distinguish themselves from alumni who received only their graduate degrees from Harvard.
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Is still a compulsive gambler. In an interview from Interview magazine, Toback claims he took the most hits of LSD ever recorded.
