David Sheffield

Gulf Coast native David Sheffield is a 1972 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. During college, he worked at the Hattiesburg television station WDAM. After graduating Sheffield and his brother Buddy Sheffield (also a writer) toured the country performing original plays for children as part of the Sheffield Ensemble Theater. In 1980, David Sheffield joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live, and in 1983 he became head writer and supervising producer for the show. In 1984 he left SNL and moved to Los Angeles with his screenwriting partner Barry Blaustein to write for films full-time. Sheffield and Blaustein have co-written screenplays for several high profile movies starring Eddie Murphy, including Coming to America and The Nutty Professor. Sheffield is married to Cynthia Walker of Laurel, who is also a screenwriter. While living in Los Angeles, the Sheffields frequently visited Mississippi, where they returned after retirement.