Michael Herman Elias (born September 20, 1940) is an American writer, film director and producer.

His father was a doctor, the son of immigrants to the US from Hungary who spent some time in Spain in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War.

He was President of The Rogers Albritton Film Club and acted in The King William Players productions of Shakespeare, Brecht, and Beckett.

[3][4] Elias has been married three times: Caroline Bielefelt 1963–1974, Laraine Mestman 1991–2001, and Bianca Roberts[5] former executive director of the Mona Bismarck American Center in Paris.

At the same time Elias joined The Living Theatre where he appeared on stage in Kenneth Brown's The Brig 1963 as well as the 1964 film by Jonas Mekas.

[8] They made their first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1967, then played New York nightclubs The Bitter End, Upstairs at the Downstairs, Bon Soir, The Village Gate.

In 1971, Elias and Steve Martin were both staff writers on The Pat Paulsen Half A Comedy Show.

[10] In 1978, Elias partnered with Rich Eustis and began a 20-year collaboration in which they created and produced the hit sitcom Head of the Class starring Howard Hesseman about gifted but socially inept high school students.

Elias went on to write and direct the award-winning Showtime movie Lush Life[13][14] with Forest Whitaker and Jeff Goldblum.