Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (born May 15, 1926) is an English dramatist, author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.
He was born to a Jewish family in Liverpool, and is the twin brother of another playwright, Anthony Shaffer. He gained a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge University to study history.Shaffer was a Bevin Boy coal miner during WW2 and took a number of jobs including bookstore clerk, and assistant at the New York Public Library, before discovering his dramatic talents.

S. J. Perelman, Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979), almost always known as S. J. Perelman was an American humorist, author, and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker; he also wrote for several other magazines, as well as books, scripts, and screenplays

Perelman's parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants who raised poultry on a small Rhode Island farm.