An esteemed filmmaker often compared to Woody Allen, Paul Mazursky was born April 25, 1930, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He found modest success as an actor in films such as Blackboard Jungle (1955) before moving behind the camera to direct (and frequently appear in) self-penned screenplays.

Mazursky's first directing success came with 1969's Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, followed by Harry and Tonto (1974), An Unmarried Woman (1978) and Enemies, A Love Story (1989), all of which earned Oscar nods for writing. He struck box-office gold with the slick satire Down and Out in Beverly Hills -- a 1986 remake of a classic French film -- and later collaborated with Allen on Scenes from a Mall (1991).

Though the 1990s were an inactive time in terms of directing, Mazursky continued to act in movies such as Carlito's Way (1993). He returned to the director's chair with the 1998 made-for-cable biopic Winchell.