American comic author whose dark, mocking humour and social criticism was directed at the concerns and behaviour of American Jews.

After graduating from the University of Missouri in 1951 with a B.A. in journalism and serving in the U.S. Air Force for two years, Friedman worked in publishing for several years before achieving success with his first novel, Stern (1962). The title character is a luckless descendent of the biblical Job, unable to assimilate into mainstream American life. Virtually all of Friedman's works are a variation on this theme; most of his characters are Jewish by birth, but they feel alienated from both Jewish and American culture. His works are also noted for focusing on absurd characters and situations.

Friedman's other works include the novels A Mother's Kisses (1964), About Harry Towns (1974), Tokyo Woes (1985), The Current Climate (1989), and A Father's Kisses (1996); the short-story collections Far from the City of Class (1963), Black Angels (1966), Let's Hear It for a Beautiful Guy (1984), and The Collected Short Fiction of Bruce Jay Friedman (1995); essays such as The Lonely Guy's Book of Life (1978; filmed as The Lonely Guy, 1984); the plays Scuba Duba: A Tense Comedy (1967), Steambath (1971; filmed 1972), and Have You Spoken to Any Jews Lately? (1995); and several screenplays, including Stir Crazy (1980) and Splash (1984; cowritten with others).