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Norman Wexler (6 August 1926–23 August 1999) was a screenwriter whose work included such films as Saturday Night Fever, Serpico and Joe, for which he received an Oscar nomination in 1971. A Detroit native and 1944 Central High School graduate, Wexler attended Harvard University before moving to New York in 1951. Wexler penned the screenplays for several hit films, most notably Joe, Serpico, Mandingo and Saturday Night Fever. He received Oscar nominations for both Joe and Serpico. He wrote Saturday Night Fever, which generated earnings in excess of $1.2B in today's dollars when both movie... MORE

Norman Wexler (6 August 1926–23 August 1999) was a screenwriter whose work included such films as Saturday Night Fever, Serpico and Joe, for which he received an Oscar nomination in 1971. A Detroit native and 1944 Central High School graduate, Wexler attended Harvard University before moving to New York in 1951. Wexler penned the screenplays for several hit films, most notably Joe, Serpico, Mandingo and Saturday Night Fever. He received Oscar nominations for both Joe and Serpico. He wrote Saturday Night Fever, which generated earnings in excess of $1.2B in today's dollars when both movie and record album sales are counted, more than double U.S. sales of top box office hit Titanic — which had a huge budget and costly special effects. According to Bob Zmuda, Saturday Night Fever made Wexler a wealthy man. He was a much sought-after script doctor, reworking the scripts for Lipstick and The Fan. Wexler was a sometime playwright. His play The Rope was produced at Cafe La MaMa (NY) in 1965. He was reported to have suffered from severe mental illness, reportedly bipolar disorder, and was arrested in 1972 for threatening to shoot President Richard Nixon. In the book Andy Kaufman Revealed, LESS