Ernest Lehman's scripts defy categorization. They include dramas: Executive Suite (1954), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966); musicals: The King and I (1956), West Side Story (1961), The Sound of Music (1965), Hello, Dolly! (1969); and thrillers: North by Northwest (1959), Family Plot, (1976), and Black Sunday (1977). His versatility made him one of the most successful screenwriters of the 1960s and 1970s, and as his reputation and earning power grew, so did his involvement in other aspects of the film business. Lehman added the role of producer to his credits with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. From there, he went on, through his own Chenault Productions, to both produce and write Hello, Dolly! and to produce, write, and direct Portnoy's Complaint (1972).

Lehman was born in New York City, but his family moved to Woodmere, Long Island, when he was five years old. His education began at Woodmere Academy, a private school, but...