John Williams Byrum was born and raised in Winnetka, Illinois. Whileattending NYU Film School, he worked as an intern forJim Henson and the Muppets,eventually working as a writer on the newSesame Street (1969) show.Byrum moved to Los Angeles to pursue film work after writing severalscreenplays, includingInserts (1975). Onthe basis of that writing sample, he worked with producersTony Bill,Don Devlin andHarry Gittes to write the scriptHarry and Walter Go to New York (1976)which was bought by Columbia Pictures for a record-breaking amount.Byrum then worked withTony Richardson andBerry Gordy, writing the script for theDiana Ross vehicle,Mahogany (1975). Byrum directed his filmInserts (1975) withRichard Dreyfuss andJessica Harper, then wrote anddirectedHeart Beat (1980) - basedupon the lives ofJack Kerouac,Neal Cassady andCarolyn Cassady, starringNick Nolte,Sissy Spacek andJohn Heard and followed withThe Razor's Edge (1984) -co-written withBill Murray andstarring Murray,Catherine Hicks,Theresa Russell,James Keach andDenholm Elliott. With the box officefailure ofThe Razor's Edge (1984), Byrumdirected the goof-ball comedyThe Whoopee Boys (1986) starringMichael O'Keefe andPaul Rodriguez and variousstand-up comedians of the time, along withDenholm Elliott andCarole Shelley. Byrum turned totelevision, creating, writing and producing the critically-praisedseriesMiddle Ages (1992)starringPeter Riegert and writing,directing and producing the TV film/pilotMurder in High Places (1991),loosely based on a fictionalHunter Thompson-type character.Other series created, written and produced by Byrum includeWinnetka Road (1994) andSouth of Sunset (1993), atelevision show that starred rock legendGlenn Frey ofEagles. Byrum's original screenplayDuets (2000) was due to begin production,starringBrad Pitt andGwyneth Paltrow, when the couple'sbroken engagement derailed the project temporarily. "Duets" waseventually made withGwyneth Paltrow,her fatherBruce Paltrow directing, withScott Speedman in the role originallypegged forBrad Pitt.

John Byrum has two children and resides in Connecticut with his wifeand dogs.