Bruce Jay Friedman (1930-2020) was a novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. He was described as a "savage social satirist" by the New York Times. In 1965 he edited a volume of short stories which he titled Black Humor, establishing an American literary genre for himself and writers such as J. P. Donleavy, Edward Albee, Joseph Heller, Thomas Pynchon, and John Barth. He was the author of eight novels (including The Dick, Stern, and A Mother’s Kisses), four collections of short stories, a number of plays—among them Scuba Duba and Steambath—and screenplays for the movies Splash and Stir Crazy.