Lee Goldberg

Career

Lee Goldberg began his career by putting himself through college as a reporter covering the entertainment industry for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Starlog Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Contra Costa Times and American Film, among many other publications. His first novel, ".357 Vigilante," written under the pseudonym "Ian Ludlow," was published in the mid-1980s while he was still a UCLA student. Three more books in the series followed and the movie rights were optioned by New World Pictures. Although the movie was never made, his script for the movie, co-written with William Rabkin, led to a long career in television and film. His first produced television script was the "If You Knew Sammy" episode of "Spenser: For Hire" about an author of vigilante novels. His subsequent writing and producing credits include "Murphy's Law", "SeaQuest DSV", "The Cosby Mysteries", and "Monk", among others. He is perhaps best known for his stint as supervising producer & executive producer of the long-running series "Diagnosis Murder" starring Dick Van Dyke as a doctor who solves crimes. In 2007, Goldberg wrote and produced the pilot for a German television program, Fast Track: No Limits. which aired on television in some countries and was releasted a theatrical film in others.

In 2010, he wrote and directed the short film Remaindered, based on his short story for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, on location in Kentucky. He wrote and directed the sequel, Bumsicle, in 2012.

In conjunction with his work on Monk and Diagnosis Murder, Goldberg wrote several original tie-in novels based on those series. He has also penned several original crime novels, two featuring ex-cop-turned-Hollywood troubleshooter Charlie Willis and four in the .357 Vigilante series, which he wrote under the pseudonym Ian Ludlow, while still a student. His novel, The Man with the Iron-On Badge (titled Watch Me Die for its re-release), was nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America and was produced in 2007 as the stage play, Mapes For Hire, in Owensboro, Kentucky at the International Mystery Writers Festival.

Goldberg has also written non-fiction books about the entertainment industry, including Unsold Television Pilots and Successful Television Writing. His book, Unsold Television Pilots, was turned into two TV specials -- The Greatest Shows You Never Saw on CBS and The Best TV Shows That Never Were on ABC, both written and produced by William Rabkin and Goldberg. They also co-created The Dead Man an original, monthly series of horror novels that rolled-out in October 2011 as the premiere titles of Amazon's new 47North sf/horror/fantasy imprint. Amazon initially ordered 12 books and, in February 2012, extended the series by 12 more. The 24th title, the Kindle Serial "Reborn," was publishing in January 2014.

In June 2013, his novel "The Heist," the first in a five-book series written with Janet Evanovich, was published by Random House. A prequel short story, "Pros and Cons," was published in May 2013 and became the #1 bestselling Kindle Single for seven straight weeks...and hit both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. "The Heist" debuted at #2 on the USA Today bestseller list & #5 on the New York Times bestseller list. The sequel, "The Chase," debuted at #1 on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list and #2 on the New York Times bestseller list in March 2014. The fifth book in the series, "The Pursuit," was published in June 2016 and hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

In September 2014, Goldberg launched the publishing company Brash Books with novelist Joel Goldman. The company publishes award-winning, highly acclaimed crime novels that have fallen out of print by authors like Bill Crider, Mark Smith, Phoef Sutton, Carolyn Weston, Max Allan Collins, Tom Kakonis, Maxine O'Callaghan, Gar Anthony Haywood, Jack Lynch, among others.

Awards

Goldberg has been nominated twice for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America and twice for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. He was the 2012 recipient of the Poirot Award from Malice Domestic. He has served as a board member for the Mystery Writers of America and also founded, alongside novelist Max Allan Collins, the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.

Personal life

Goldberg has three younger siblings -- Tod Goldberg, Linda Woods and Karen Dinino—all of whom are writers. His uncle is true crime author Burl Barer.

He lives with his wife and daughter in Los Angeles.