James Toback est né le 23 novembre 1944 dans l'état de New York, États-Unis. Il est scénariste et réalisateur. Il est connu pour Bugsy (1991), Tyson (2008) et The Gambler (2014).
He cultivated a reputation as a 'ladies man', f.e. in a 1989 Spy magazine article, but his manipulative methods in trying to have sex with young actresses were far more sinister: Since 2017 Toback has been accused of sexual assault or sexual harassment by 395 women, according to 'The Guardian' [April 10, 2017].
