Bruce Jay Friedman is an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Off-Broadway plays include Scuba Duba (New Theatre), Have You Spoken to Any Jews Lately? (American Jewish Theatre), and Steambath (Truck and Warehouse Theater).

Screenplays include Brazzaville Teen-Ager, The Lonely Guy, Splash, Doctor Detroit, Stir Crazy, Fore Play, The Ted Bessell Show, and The Heartbreak Kid.

Friedman has published eight novels Violencia!, A Father's Kisses, The Current Climate, Tokyo Woes, About Harry Towns, The Dick, A Mother's Kisses, and Stern. Additionally, he published his collection of short fiction, Three Balconies, his memoir Lucky Bruce, and a collection of four plays—Scuba Duba, Steambath, Sardines, and The Trial—titled 3.1 Plays.