Born in New York City, the second of five brothers; his parents were both Polish Jews from the village of Ulanow (Surname Wurtzel is a variant spelling of German and Yiddish wurzel, root in English).

During his 34 year career at Fox and 20th Century Fox, Wurtzel supervised over 700 hundred films (many uncredited)[2] including a large number of the Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto and Jones Family series as well as other successes such as Bright Eyes in 1934, starring Shirley Temple and featuring her enduring trademark song: "On the Good Ship Lollipop".

He produced several of Laurel and Hardy's later comedies in the 1940s, including Great Guns (1941), A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), Jitterbugs (1943) and The Big Noise (1944).

[7] John Ford and Rabbi Max Nussbaum delivered eulogies at his funeral at Temple Israel of Hollywood attended by 400 mourners.

The Wurtzel-Neff Estate on Bellagio Road in Bel Air, Los Angeles was designed by Wallace Neff and completed in 1932.