Danny Rubin (born 1957 in San Francisco, California, US) is an American screenwriter and playwright. He wrote the original story, and then co-wrote with Harold Ramis the screenplay for the 1993 comedy film Groundhog Day, for which the two received a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay.
The stage musical Groundhog Day based on the film premiered in 2016 which won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 2017.
Rubin was born in San Francisco, the son of Melvin Rubin, an ophthalmologist, and Lorna (née' Isen), owner of a publishing business, and grew up in Gainesville, Florida. His grandfather was Albert Isen, former mayor of Torrance, California. His brother, Michael, is an author and sister, Gabrielle, a visual artist.
Rubin received a B.A. in biology from Brown University and a M.A. in radio, television, and film from Northwestern University.
Rubin wrote the original story, and then co-wrote with Harold Ramis the screenplay for the 1993 comedy film Groundhog Day, for which the two received a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay. The film is considered one of the greatest films ever made and one of the best screenplays of all time. He co-wrote Hear No Evil released the same year. With Jefery Levy, he co-wrote the 1995 film S.F.W.
In 2016 the stage musical Groundhog Day, which is based on the film, premiered at The Old Vic in London. It was nominated for eight Laurence Olivier Awards in 2017, winning for Best New Musical; it later opened on Broadway in 2017, and was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical has a book by Rubin, based on his original story.
Rubin has taught screenwriting at numerous universities and lectured on the topic at academic conferences since 1995. He was a Briggs-Copeland Lecturer on English at Harvard University.
