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S.J. Perelman (born Feb. 1, 1904, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—died Oct. 17, 1979, New York, N.Y.) was an American humorist who was a master of wordplay in books, movies, plays, and essays. Perelman’s parents moved the family from Brooklyn to Providence, R.I., during his childhood. He attended but did not graduate from Brown University, where he edited the school humour magazine. He began writing for the early, frenetic Marx Brothers films and helped turn out the...