John Jay Osborn, Jr.

Who is John Jay Osborn, Jr.?

John Jay Osborn, Jr. is the author of the bestselling novel, The Paper Chase, a fictional account of one Harvard Law School student's battles with the imperious Professor Charles Kingsfield. The book was made into a movie starring John Houseman and Timothy Bottoms. Houseman won an Oscar for his performance as contracts professor Kingsfield. The Paper Chase also became a television series. Osborn wrote several of the scripts. Osborn's other books include The Associates, The Man Who Owned New York, and The Only Thing I've Done Wrong. His third novel, The Associates, was adapted into a short-lived television series starring Martin Short and Wilfrid Hyde-White.

He is one of the writers of the screenplay for the film version of the 1983 novel The River Why by David James Duncan. The movie, starring William Hurt and Kathleen Quinlan, was screened in 2010 at various film festivals.