20th-century American screenwriters

American cartoonist (born 1954)

Robert Reiner was an American filmmaker, actor, and political activist. He directed a series of acclaimed studio films in a career that spanned comedy, drama, romance, and documentary. Reiner received numerous accolades, including winning two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Hugo Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and nine Golden Globe Awards. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and received the Chaplin Gala Tribute at the Film at Lincoln Center in 2014. Three of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.

American writer (1894–1961)

American director, producer and screenwriter (1924–2011)

Swiss-German-American director and producer (1902–1981)

American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist (1893-1967)

Steven John Carell is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Michael Scott in the NBC sitcom The Office, and also worked at several points as a producer, executive producer, writer, and director. Carell has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for The Office. He was recognized as "America's Funniest Man" by Life.

American film director, producer, and actor

American filmmaker (1925–2006)

American film director, screenwriter, and actor (1906–1987)

American stand-up comedian (1957–2022)

American film director and screenwriter

American film director, producer and actor (1881–1959)

American and French visual artist (1890–1976)

American filmmaker (born 1957)

American filmmaker (1966-)

American actor (born 1936)

Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, and writer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, O'Brien was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. He has hosted the podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since 2018, and starred in the 2024 travel show Conan O'Brien Must Go on HBO Max.

American writer (1917–2007)

American comedian and actor

American filmmaker (born 1970)

American filmmaker (1944–2017)

American comedian, writer, producer, activist, and television host

American filmmaker (1939–2015)

Stephen Glenn Martin is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for his work in comedy films, television, and recording, he has received many accolades, including five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for eight Golden Globe Awards and two Tony Awards. Martin received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2005, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, the Honorary Academy Award in 2013 and an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2015. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Martin at sixth place in a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics.

American filmmaker (born 1969)

American film director, screenwriter, and producer (1909-1993)

William Edward Crystal is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is known as a stand-up comedian and for his film and stage roles. Crystal has received numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award as well as nominations for three Grammy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2007, the Critics' Choice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2023.

American writer and novelist

American filmmaker (born 1959)

American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer (1883–1939)

American television screenwriter and producer (1921–1991)

Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the Comedy Central news satire show The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014, and the CBS talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since September 2015.

American fiction writer (1926–2013)

American film director, producer, photographer and musician (born 1952)

American actor and comedian (1952–2023)

American film director and screenwriter (born 1943)

American filmmaker (born 1969)

German-American actor and film director (1892–1947)

Canadian-American actor (born 1952)

American choreographer, dancer, and director (1927–1987)

American actor (1949–1982)

American filmmaker, composer and actor (born 1948)

James Christian Kimmel is an American television host and comedian. He is best known as the host and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which has aired on ABC since 2003. Kimmel has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards three times, in 2012, 2016 and 2020, and the Academy Awards four times, in 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024.

American novelist and screenwriter

American film director, producer and screenwriter (1896–1977)

Paul Thomas Anderson, also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. Often described as one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation, he is the recipient of three Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTAs, three Critics Choice Awards, and nominations for a Grammy. He is the only person to have won the Academy Award for Best Director and directorial prizes at Europe's three major film festivals: Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival. In addition to those accolades, he won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.

American film directors, screenwriters, and producers

American film director (1925–1984)

Zachary Israel Braff is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as John Michael "J.D." Dorian on the NBC/ABC television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005 as well as for three Golden Globe Awards from 2005 to 2007. He starred in The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000), The Last Kiss (2006), The Ex (2006), and In Dubious Battle (2016). He has done voice-work for Chicken Little (2005) and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).

American comedian and actor (1940–2005)

American comedian and actor

American journalist, author, film director and screenwriter (1888-1973)

American animator and cartoonist (1911–2006)

British film director (1886–1960)

American comedian, actor, and filmmaker (born 1967)

American actor, animator and filmmaker (born 1969)

American film director (1939–2022)

American filmmaker (born 1961)

Greek-American actor, film director, and screenwriter (1929–1989)