Biography
Herb Gardner (1934–2003) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He began his career as a commercial artist and cartoonist, creating the syndicated strip The Nebbishes in the late 1950s before turning to writing plays and screenplays.
Gardner is best known for his 1962 play A Thousand Clowns, which he adapted into the 1965 film of the same name; the screenplay earned him an Academy Award nomination. His later play I'm Not Rappaport (1985) won the Tony Award for Best Play and was adapted into a 1996 film. Other works include the plays The Goodbye People and Conversations with My Father, several of which he adapted for the screen.
Educated at New York's High School of Performing Arts, Carnegie Mellon University and Antioch College, Gardner drew on his Brooklyn upbringing for his character-driven comedies set in New York.
