John Byrum
| John Byrum | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 14, 1947 United States |
| Occupation | Director Screenwriter |
| Spouse(s) | Karin Reznack Linda Fiorentino |
John Byrum (born March 14, 1947) is an American film director and writer known for The Razor's Edge, Heart Beat, Duets and Inserts.
Raised in Winnetka, Illinois, on the North Shore of Chicago, Byrum attended New Trier High School, and later studied at New York University in the late 1960s. His instructors included Haig P. Manoogian and graduate student Martin Scorsese, and classmates Oliver Stone and Eric Jenkins. At NYU he co-wrote "Item 72-D, The Adventures of Spa and Fon" with director Edward Summer.
As a student, Byrum interned with Jim Henson on early appearances of The Muppets and was later hired by Henson as one of the original writers of Sesame Street. Henson took a special interest in Byrum's talent, and hired him to write freelance projects. Byrum left New York for Hollywood after Byrum's original script Inserts received positive reaction and he was tapped to write the script Harry and Walter Go to New York by producers and mentors Don Devlin, Tony Bill, and Harry Gittes. After that script was sold for a then-record-breaking amount, Byrum was hired to write the Diana Ross vehicle Mahogany. He passed on the chance to write the script for "Jaws" in order to work on "Mahogany" with one of his idols, director Tony Richardson, only to have Richardson leave the film mid-production after clashing with producer Berry Gordy of Motown fame. Berry took over directing chores and it is said that the true drama of Mahogany was the behind-the-camera relationship between Berry Gordy and Diana Ross.
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