Biography

Richard Stern was born in Park Ridge, Illinois and was raised in the Northern suburbs of Chicago. At the age of 6, his parents divorced and Richard spent the rest of his childhood living with his mother, Myrna and younger brother, Jonathan.

In high school, Richard was a nationally ranked debator and editor of his school newspaper. At the same time, he also published a collection of poetry and short stories entitled, "Searching Suburban Skies". The book won a series of national literary awards and earned Richard a Lieberman fellowship to attend Bard College.

During his freshmen year at Bard, he was both co-captain of the school's debating team and editor-in-chief of the newspaper. His first screenplay, "Blood and Salsa" was written and sold while he was still in undergraduate school.