Lloyd Kaufman

Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio. Kaufman was born to a Jewish family. Kaufman graduated from Yale University with the class of 1968, where he majored in Chinese studies. His fellow Yale classmates included Oliver Stone and George W. Bush. Originally intending to become a social worker, he became fast friends with student filmmaker Robert Edelstein and Eric Sherman (son of filmmaker Vincent Sherman), who introduced him to his future lifelong obsession, cinema. Following his graduation, Kaufman went on to work for Cannon Films, where he met John G. Avildsen. The two collaborated for several years, making low-budget films. During this period, Kaufman also directed and starred in his second feature film. From 1973-1979, Kaufman produced and directed a handful of adult films in New York under the pseudonym "Louis Su".