Jeff Schaffer

Schaffer was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He and his brother Greg (also a film and TV writer and producer) were raised in the Warren–Howland, Ohio area, about 50 mi (80 km) east of Cleveland.

Schaffer married the former Jackie Marcus, also his professional partner, particularly on The League; their life experiences have often been translated into the plot of the series. They have a daughter, Arwen (named for the character in The Lord of the Rings), born in 2012.

Schaffer wrote and directed EuroTrip, a 2004 teen comedy, and participated in the screenplay for the 2003 adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat. Other scripts he has helped write include two comedy features starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Brüno (2009) and The Dictator (2012). On the latter film, Alec Berg and David Mandel — former Seinfeld writers as well as friends and collaborators with Schaffer since college — also collaborated, and veteran Seinfeld writer and Curb Your Enthusiasm director Larry Charles directed. All four would later write the TV movie Clear History, starring Larry David.

Dan O'Keefe, who worked with Schaffer on Seinfeld, credits Schaffer with introducing the concept of the Festivus pole as the only decoration for Festivus, the December 23rd holiday. Festivus was popularized in the 1997 Seinfeld episode "The Strike". The aluminum pole was not part of the original O'Keefe family celebration, which centered on putting a clock in a bag and nailing it to a wall.

Jeff Schaffer (born January 1, 1970) is an American film and television director, writer, and producer. During his work with the Seinfeld series Schaffer created the Festivus pole.