Jerome Leonard Epstein (January 17, 1922 – November 16, 1991) was an American director, screenwriter and producer known for his nearly 30-year professional collaboration and friendship with Charlie Chaplin and his son Sydney Chaplin. Epstein was born on January 17, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio. Epstein's father had come to America in 1905 to escape anti-Jewish pogroms in Vilkomir, Lithuania. Epstein's childhood was spent in Brooklyn, New York. During World War... see more