Paul Mazursky studied acting in New York with Paul Mann and Lee Strasberg, starting his acting career in off-Broadway productions, then making his feature film debut in Stanley Kubrick's Fear and Desire (1953), followed by a role in Richard Brooks’ Blackboard Jungle (1955). Mazursky wrote for the television series The Rifleman (1962) and The Danny Kaye Show (1965) before co-writing the screenplay for I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968) with Larry Tucker.
In 1969, Mazursky directed his first feature film, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, which he also co-wrote with Tucker. He continued his directing and writing career with popular and critically acclaimed films like Alex in Wonderland (1970), Blume in Love (1973), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), and Enemies: A Love Story (1989), among many others.
Mazursky has received numerous awards and recognition for his work, including two Emmy nominations in 1964 and 1966 for Outstanding Writing for The Danny Kaye Show and five Academy Award nominations – two for An Unmarried Woman (Best Picture shared with fellow producer Anthony Ray and Best Screenplay), as well as nominations for Best Screenplay for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (shared with Larry Tucker), Harry and Tonto (shared with Josh Greenfeld) and Enemies a Love Story (shared with Roger L. Simon). Mazursky has also won and been nominated for numerous WGA Awards, including a 1970 Award for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. In 1979, Mazursky was nominated for a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for An Unmarried Woman.
Paul Mazursky served on the DGA’s Western Directors Guild from 1990-2001 and 2009-2011 and was an alternate on the National Board from 1995-2001. He also served on the Guild’s Theatrical Creative Rights Committee from 1995-2005 and on the Credits Committee from 1999-2005.
Mazursky passed away in 2014.