Jerome Lawrence, born Jerome Lawrence Schwartz on July 14, 1915, was a distinguished American playwright and author. Lawrence embarked on his literary journey after graduating from the Ohio State University in 1937 and the University of California, Los Angeles in 1939. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army where he, alongside Robert Edwin Lee, founded the Armed Forces Radio. This collaboration marked the beginning of a lifelong partnership between Lawrence and Lee, spanning the creation of screenplays and musicals until Lee's death in 1994.

Their most celebrated work, the 1955 play Inherit the Wind, is based on the Scopes trial. Lawrence often spoke of their works as embodying the theme of "the dignity of every individual mind, and that mind's lifelong battle against limitation and censorship." Choosing to distance themselves from Broadway in their later careers, they established the American Playwrights Theater in 1963, aiming to promote their theatrical endeavors. Following Lee's passing, Lawrence continued his passion for playwriting from his Malibu, California, home until his death on February 29, 2004, due to complications of a stroke.