Personal info
Known for
Director
Gender
Male
Birthday
23 November
Location
New York, United States
Edit pageJames Toback
Biography
James Toback is an American screenwriter, film director, producer and actor, born on November 23, 1944, in New York City. He graduated from Harvard University in 1966 and later taught English at City College of New York. He began his screenwriting career with The Gambler (1974), a drama inspired partly by his own experiences with gambling.
He made his directorial debut with Fingers (1978) and went on to write and direct films such as Exposed (1983), The Pick-up Artist (1987), Two Girls and a Guy (1997), Black and White (1999), Harvard Man (2001) and When Will I Be Loved (2004). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Bugsy (1991). He also directed the documentary Tyson (2008), about boxer Mike Tyson, and Seduced and Abandoned (2013).
Controversies
Beginning in 2017, numerous women accused Toback of sexual harassment and assault; he denied the allegations. In April 2025, a New York jury returned a verdict against him in a civil sexual-abuse case involving 40 women, with a reported award of $1.68 billion.
