Peter Lefcourt (born December 19, 1941) is an American television producer, a film and television screenwriter, and a novelist.
Lefcourt's early career involved writing teleplays for primetime series such as Cagney and Lacey, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (both of which he also produced), Eight is Enough, and Remington Steele, among others. He penned the scripts for the television movies Monte Carlo, Cracked Up, Danielle Steel's Fine Things, and The Women of Windsor. In more recent years he executive-produced and wrote for Beggars and Choosers and Karen Sisco.
Lefcourt was nominated for a 1984 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for Cagney and Lacey and won the following year.
Much of Lefcourt's fiction has been inspired by his true-life experiences working behind-the-scenes in Hollywood. His first novel, The Deal, was adapted for the screen by William H. Macy and debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Several others of his books are under option or in various stages of development for feature films.
His other novels are The Dreyfus Affair (1992), Di & I (1994), Abbreviating Ernie (1997), The Woody (1998), Eleven Karens (2003), The Manhattan Beach Project (2005), Le Jet Lag (2007), An American Family (2010) and Purgatory Gardens (2015).
Lefcourt lives with his wife Terri in Santa Monica, California.
In a 2012 interview with Larry Mantle on KPCC's Airtalk, Lefcourt stated he signed with Amazon.com to publish and distribute his most recent book "with some trepidation". He said friends told him he was 'joining the enemy', but his backlist is selling better electronically on Amazon.com than in it did at traditional booksellers while in print.[1]
The Dreyfus Affair is a comic look at homophobia in baseball with many allusions to the historical event. Consider the possibilities: In the middle of a pennant race, a team's star shortstop falls in love with his second baseman. Which is exactly what happens to Randy Dreyfus, the best-hitting, best-fielding, best-looking, and most happily married young shortstop in the major leagues. The Dreyfus Affair combines romance, comedy, social satire, and some of the finest baseball writing in years. The result is a rollicking, provocative odyssey through one unforgettable World Series championship.
My published books: