Paddy Chayefsky may not have the name recognition of some of the other theatrical personas that appear on Fosse/Verdon, but the award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and novelist was not only one of Bob Fosse's closest friends, but also one of the most famous writers of the golden age of television.

Here's everything you need to know about him:

He was born in New York City

Sidney Aaron Chayefsky was born in the Bronx on January 29, 1923 to Jewish immigrant parents. He developed an early interest in writing and plays and went on to study at the City College of New York. After he graduated in 1943, he entered the U.S. Army during the height of WWII and served in an infantry division in Germany.

He earned the nickname "Paddy" in the army

Though it would become the name he was most well-known under, Chayefsky didn't earn the moniker Paddy until his adulthood. While serving in Germany, he reportedly attempted to avoid kitchen duty by requesting to be allowed to attend Catholic mass with a frequency that inspired his fellow soldiers to joke that he must be Irish to attend services so regularly. The name stuck and became his professional pen name for the remained of his life.

Paddy Chayefsky
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Paddy Chayefsky wrote stage plays, screenplays, and novels in his storied career, earning himself 3 Academy Awards.

He started writing for TV in the 1950s

After the end of the war, Chayefsky returned to New York City to work in his uncle's print shop. In 1945 he married Susan Sackler and together they would have one son, Daniel.

While working for his uncle, Chayefsky began writing on the side for the radio and the burgeoning television industry. He worked on scripts for crime dramas like Manhunt as well as televised playhouse-style productions, becoming well known for his witty dialogue and slice-of-life stories. His first major success, the film Marty, originally appeared on the TV spot Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse in 1953.

He is the only person to have won three solo Best Screenplay Oscars

While Chayefsky continued to write for TV, becoming one of the stand out names in the so-called Golden Age of Television, he also achieved success on the big screen with adaptations and original work. He penned the 1955 movie adaptation for his television film Marty, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. He followed that with two additional golden statues: one for 1971's medical satire The Hospital and another for 1976's Network in which he coined what would become a cultural catch-phrase of the time—"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."

He wrote for Broadway and became friends with Bob Fosse

The Collected Works of Paddy Chayefsky: Volume 1

The Collected Works of Paddy Chayefsky: Volume 1

The Collected Works of Paddy Chayefsky: Volume 1

$20 at Amazon

Between his film and television work, Chayefsky turned his eye toward theater, making his Broadway debut with the play Middle of the Night (an expanded version of one his teleplays) in 1956, just a year after Bob Fosse first met Gwen Verdon. Running in similar circles, the choreographer quickly became friends with Chayefsky, frequently lunching together at Carnegie Deli along with playwright Herb Gardner.

"Bob was utterly in awe of what Paddy could accomplish, and tried to bring a little of that to his own work," said Fosse biographer Sam Wasson in a 2013 interview.

Chayefsky continued to develop Broadway productions over the next decade with 1959's The Tenth Man and 1961's Gideon both gaining acclaim. However, his 1964 satire The Passion of Josef D. about the Russian revolution and Communist dictator Joseph Stalin was an immediate flop, closing in just two weeks. The experience soured Chayefsky on Broadway and he never penned another production for the Great White Way.

Fosse danced at his funeral

Paddy Chayefsky
Jack Mitchell//Getty Images
A portrait of Chayefsky.

Though Chayefsky abandoned Broadway, he continued working for both the big and small screens, adapting his play Gideon and penning numerous made-for-TV films before the '70s success of both The Hospital and Network. He also tried his hand at novel writing with the 1979 science fiction book Altered States. He helped develop that project for film as well but ultimately asked to have his credit removed after clashing with the film's directors: he was billed instead as "Sidney Aaron."

Around year after the film's debut, Chayefsky died of cancer in August of 1981 at the age of 58. Making good on a promise that the two had made when Fosse was preparing to undergo heart surgery (Chayefsky supposedly promised to give a long eulogy if Fosse died before him but demanded that Fosse perform in his honor if Chayefsky died first), Fosse tap danced at the funeral service.

Chayefsky was posthumously inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Television Hall of Fame as one of the inaugural inductees in 1984.

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Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.