David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and film director. As a playwright, Mamet has won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-the-Plow. As a screenwriter, he has received Oscar nominations for The Verdict and Wag the Dog. Mamet's books include: The Old Religion, a novel about the lynching of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, a Torah commentary with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; The Wicked Son, a study of Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism; Bambi vs. Godzilla, a commentary on the movie business; The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture, a commentary on cultural and political issues; and Three War Stories, a trio of novellas about the physical and psychological effects of war. Feature films which Mamet both wrote and directed include Redbelt, The Spanish Prisoner, House of Games, Spartan, Heist, State and Main, The Winslow Boy, Oleanna, Homicide, Things Change, and most recently the 2013 HBO film Phil Spector, starring Al Pacino as Spector with Helen Mirren and Jeffrey Tambor. 

November 30th, 1947 in Chicago (Age 76)