Art Buchwald (born October 20, 1925) is an American humorist best known for his long-running column in The Washington Post newspaper, which concentrates on political satire and commentary. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982 and in 1986 was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Buchwald is also known for the Buchwald v. Paramount lawsuit, which he and partner Alain Bernheim filed against Paramount Pictures in 1988 in a controversy over the Eddie Murphy movie Coming to America. Buchwald claimed Paramount had stolen his script idea. He won, was awarded damages, and then accepted a settlement from Paramount. The case was the subject of a 1992 book, Fatal Subtraction: The Inside Story of Buchwald V. Paramount by Pierce O'Donnell and Dennis McDougal.
As of April 5, 2006, Buchwald is in a Washington, D.C. area hospice. Although his kidneys are failing he has elected to forego kidney dialysis, saying that he wishes to finish his days his way and to avoid end-of-life ailments that befall so many elderly individuals.
