Raised in the Bronx; had a mild case of cerebral palsy while growing up

Sold his first short story to the literary magazine, "Antaeus"

Completed his first novel, "The Wanderers," at age 24

Began teaching at various East Coast colleges

First novel adapted to film, "Bloodbrothers"

First onscreen appearance, in "The Wanderers"

Co-wrote first original screenplay, "Streets of Gold"

First collaboration with Martin Scorsese, wrote and appeared in "The Color of Money"

Sold unpublished manuscript, "Clockers" to Universal for $1.9 million

First film as executive producer, "Mad Dog and Glory" (also wrote and appeared in)

Appeared as himself in Ron Howard's comedy-drama, "The Paper"

Penned screenplay adaptation for "Clockers" directed by Spike Lee

Co-wrote the screenplay for the remake of "Ransom"

Contributed to the script of "Shaft"; John Singelton's loose remake of the 1971 classic

Wrote for the HBO drama series "The Wire"

Wrote the screenplat for "Freedomland," a drama directed by Joe Roth and based on his novel of the same name