---
name: "Michael Elias"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/michael-elias"
fi1m_id: "michael-elias"
imdb_id: "nm0253498"
tmdb_id: 163244
wikidata_id: "Q60736840"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "20 September 1940"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T00:44:16.947838+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Michael Elias

## Identity

Michael Elias

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/michael-elias
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** michael-elias
- **IMDb ID:** nm0253498
- **TMDB ID:** 163244
- **Wikidata ID:** Q60736840
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Elias, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60736840, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0253498/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/163244

Writer. Born 20 September 1940 in Woodburn, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 20 September 1940, Woodburn, New York, USA
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Elias, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60736840, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0253498/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/163244

## Biography

Michael Elias is an American writer, producer and director. He graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, with a degree in mathematics and philosophy. Early in his career he acted with The Living Theatre in New York and London.

Elias co-wrote the screenplay for *The Jerk* (1979) with Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb. His other screenwriting credits include *The Frisco Kid* (1979), *Serial* (1980) and *Young Doctors in Love* (1982). With Rich Eustis he created and produced the ABC sitcom *Head of the Class*. He wrote and directed the television film *Lush Life* (1993).

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, sjc.edu.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Jerk* (1979), Fi1m 77, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-jerk.md)

## Complete filmography (18)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Head of the Class* (2021), series, Original Series Creator, Creator
- *No Laughing Matter* (1998), Director, Teleplay
- *Children of the Dust* (1995), series, as Reporter
- *Lush Life* (1993), Director, Screenplay
- *Beaches* (1988), as Seedy Bar Patron
- *Envoyez les violons* (1988), Screenplay, Story
- *The American Snitch* (1983), Executive Producer
- *Young Doctors in Love* (1982), as The Others - Spectator · Writer
- *Serial* (1980), Screenplay
- *Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty* (1980), Writer
- *The Jerk* (1979), Screenplay — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/the-jerk.md)
- *The Frisco Kid* (1979), as Rabbi · Writer
- *Co-Ed Fever* (1979), series, Creator
- *Steve Martin: A Wild and Crazy Guy* (1978), Writer
- *Black Bart* (1975), Writer
- *Another Nice Mess* (1972), as Chauffeur
- *Who's Crazy?* (1965), Actor
- *The Brig* (1964), as Prisoner No.5

## Gallery

- ![Michael Elias](https://film.one/media/person/3922940/gallery-dbaf7becf66c.jpg) Michael Elias — Eliasm920, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Michael_Elias.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Michael Herman Elias (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/3922940/gallery-01777ca513b9.jpg) Michael Herman Elias (2018) — Eliasm920, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Michael_Herman_Elias.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/michael-elias