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John Williams Byrum was born and raised in Winnetka, Illinois. While attending NYU Film School, he worked as an intern for Jim Henson and the Muppets, eventually working as a writer on the new Sesame Street (1969) show. Byrum moved to Los Angeles to pursue film work after writing several screenplays, including Inserts (1975). On the basis of that writing sample, he worked with producers Tony Bill, Don Devlin and Harry Gittes to write the script Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) which was bought by Columbia Pictures for a record-breaking amount. Byrum then worked with Tony Richardson and Berry Gordy, writing the script for the Diana Ross vehicle, Mahogany (1975). Byrum directed his film Inserts (1975) with Richard Dreyfuss and Jessica Harper, then wrote and directed Heart Beat (1980) - based upon the lives of Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady and Carolyn Cassady, starring Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek and John Heard and followed with The Razor's Edge (1984) - co-written with Bill Murray and starring Murray, Catherine Hicks, Theresa Russell, James Keach and Denholm Elliott. With the box office failure of The Razor's Edge (1984), Byrum directed the goof-ball comedy The Whoopee Boys (1986) starring Michael O'Keefe and Paul Rodriguez and various stand-up comedians of the time, along with Denholm Elliott and Carole Shelley. Byrum turned to television, creating, writing and producing the critically-praised series Middle Ages (1992) starring Peter Riegert and writing, directing and producing the TV film/pilot Murder in High Places (1991), loosely based on a fictional Hunter Thompson-type character. Other series created, written and produced by Byrum include Winnetka Road (1994) and South of Sunset (1993), a television show that starred rock legend Glenn Frey of Eagles. Byrum's original screenplay Duets (2000) was due to begin production, starring Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, when the couple's broken engagement derailed the project temporarily. "Duets" was eventually made with Gwyneth Paltrow, her father Bruce Paltrow directing, with Scott Speedman in the role originally pegged for Brad Pitt.
John Byrum has two children and resides in Connecticut with his wife and dogs.
