George Simon Kaufman (16 November 1889 - 2 June 1961) was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic.

Born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania he graduated from high school in 1907 and pursued legal studies, but grew disenchanted and took on a series of odd jobs. Kaufman then began his career as a journalist and drama critic. He was the drama editor for The New York Times, and held on to that job until 1930, nearly a decade after he achieved great success as a playwright. Kaufman took his editorial responsibilities very seriously. According to legend, on one occasion a press agent asked: “How do I get our leading lady’s name in the Times?” Kaufman: “Shoot her.”

His Broadway debut was in 1918 with Someone in the House, written with Larry Evans and W.C. Percival. This play was panned, and it had the further handicap of opening on Broadway during a flu epidemic, when theatre attendance in New York City diminished drastically because the public were warned to avoid crowds. Kaufman sardonically advised his play's producers to print advertisements with this message: "Avoid crowds: see Someone in the House."