Jerome Lawrence

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Jerome Lawrence (July 14, 1915 - February 29, 2004) was an American playwright and author.

Born Jerome Schwartz in Cleveland, Ohio, he worked for several small newspapers as a reporter/editor before moving into radio as a writer for CBS. He is best known for the plays Auntie Mame, Inherit the Wind, and First Monday in October, which he co-wrote with Robert E. Lee. In all, they collaborated on 39 works. A theatre archive is named for them at their alma mater, Ohio State University.

Lawrence taught playwriting in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. The school recently named its one-act play festival in his honor.

Lawrence's lone Tony Award nomination was for Best Book of a Musical for Mame. He died due to complications from a stroke in Malibu, California.