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Born in New York City; educated at Harvard and Columbia. Former journalist and literature professor who began his film career by scripting Karel Reisz's THE GAMBLER (1974) and made a haunting directorial debut with FINGERS (1978). (Toback had previously published Jim, a profile of the film's star, actor-athlete Jim Brown). Toback's subsequent films, particularly the erotic thriller EXPOSED (1983) -- in which he appears as Nastassja Kinski's professor/lover -- have all been lesser outings, though the self-reflexive documentary, THE BIG BANG (1990) is a diverting, offbeat look at the meaning of life. Other notable writing and directing credits include LOVE AND MONEY (1982, also producer), THE PICK-UP ARTIST (1987), THE BIG BANG (1989), TWO GIRLS AND A GUY (1997), BLACK AND WHITE and LOVE IN PARIS (both 1999), HARVARD MAN (2001), WHEN WILL I BE LOVED (2004), and DE BATTRE MON CŒUR S'EST ARRÊTÉ / THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED (2005, from an earlier screenplay).  Nominated for Achievement in Writing - Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen 1991: BUGSY 1 nomination