Jon Hurwitz
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Jonathan Benjamin Hurwitz (born November 15, 1977) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on ''
Cobra Kai ''Cobra Kai'' is an American martial arts comedy-drama television series and a sequel to the original ''The Karate Kid'' films by Robert Mark Kamen. The series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and is distributed ...
'' (with Hayden Schlossberg and
Josh Heald Josh Heald (born December 12, 1977) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on ''Cobra Kai'' and ''Hot Tub Time Machine.'' Early life Heald was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. He was raised in Middletown Towns ...
), the ''
Harold & Kumar ''Harold & Kumar'' is the name of a series of American films created by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. Beginning with ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' (2004), and followed by '' Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'' (2008) and ' ...
'' films, and ''
American Reunion ''American Reunion'' (also known as ''American Pie 4: Reunion'' or ''American Pie: Reunion'' in certain countries) is a 2012 American ensemble sex comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. It is the fourth installm ...
'' (with Schlossberg).


Early life

Hurwitz was born in Byram,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
, to
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents. and lived there for two years. He then moved to
Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bo ...
for 5 years, although following that he grew up mostly in
Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania Upper St. Clair is a township with home rule status in southern Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, situated about 8 miles (13 km) south of Downtown Pittsburgh. It is known for being an affluent suburb with a nationally recognized school distr ...
and
Randolph, New Jersey Randolph is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 25,734, reflecting an increase of 887 (+3.6%) from the 24,847 counted in the 2000 census, which had in turn ...
. He met Hayden Schlossberg when they both attended Randolph High School. Hurwitz was studying finance at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
's
Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
, with
Josh Heald Josh Heald (born December 12, 1977) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on ''Cobra Kai'' and ''Hot Tub Time Machine.'' Early life Heald was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. He was raised in Middletown Towns ...
who lived in the same dorm with him during freshman year. As Schlossberg (who was in college at The University of Chicago) frequently came to visit, he got to know Heald as well.


Career

Hurwitz was studying finance at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
's
Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
, while Schlossberg was a history major at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
with plans of attending law school. It was during this time that they sold their first script ''Filthy'' to MGM. Upon selling ''Filthy'', they moved to Hollywood to begin their career in the entertainment industry. The idea for the first ''Harold and Kumar'' film, ''
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' (released in some international markets as ''Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies'') is a 2004 American buddy stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner, written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, and starr ...
'' developed while they were living in Los Angeles. Hurwitz and Schlossberg decided to write a low-budget stoner film and base the main characters on their high school friends from Randolph High School. They based the character of Harold on their real-life friend Harold Lee. Hurwitz got the idea to base the film around White Castle from his own experience craving White Castle burgers when he lived in Pennsylvania for several years. At the time, Pennsylvania did not have any White Castle locations and Hurwitz had to have family members bring him frozen White Castle burgers from New Jersey. It was later followed by '' Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'' and ''
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas ''A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas'' (previously titled ''A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas'') is a 2011 American buddy stoner comedy film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. The sequel to ''Harol ...
''. They also wrote and directed the fourth theatrical entry in the '' American Pie'' franchise, writing and directing ''
American Reunion ''American Reunion'' (also known as ''American Pie 4: Reunion'' or ''American Pie: Reunion'' in certain countries) is a 2012 American ensemble sex comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. It is the fourth installm ...
'' (2012). In 2015, the trio signed a deal with Lionsgate. They currently work on ''
Cobra Kai ''Cobra Kai'' is an American martial arts comedy-drama television series and a sequel to the original ''The Karate Kid'' films by Robert Mark Kamen. The series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and is distributed ...
'', a continuation of ''
The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue an ...
'' franchise. Hurwitz & Schlossberg created the show, along with their close friend
Josh Heald Josh Heald (born December 12, 1977) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on ''Cobra Kai'' and ''Hot Tub Time Machine.'' Early life Heald was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. He was raised in Middletown Towns ...
. The trio serve as executive producers, show runners, writers, and directors on the series. More recently, he and his friend Hayden Schlossberg, along with Josh Heald via Counterbalance Entertainment has signed a deal with
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
.


Filmography


See also

* Hayden Schlossberg *
Josh Heald Josh Heald (born December 12, 1977) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on ''Cobra Kai'' and ''Hot Tub Time Machine.'' Early life Heald was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. He was raised in Middletown Towns ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurwitz, Jon 1977 births Living people Jewish American screenwriters American male screenwriters Comedy film directors People from Morristown, New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people) People from Randolph, New Jersey Randolph High School (New Jersey) alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Screenwriters from New Jersey 21st-century American Jews