Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed. Before these, he worked on reviewing scripts at Paramount, Fox, and Alan Ladd studios. Lindelof is a native of Teaneck, New Jersey, where he attended Teaneck High School, a school whose diverse student body he credits with expanding his horizons as a writer. He celebrated his bar mitzvah in Teaneck, where he would join his family at synagogue for the Sabbath, and recounted how the fact that "I was a Jewish white kid growing up in Teaneck, but at the same time, I had African and Filipino and Asian friends and to have that experience all through high school while getting an awesome education was wonderful." Lindelof attended film school at New York University, performing briefly in the band Petting Zoo, and moved to Los Angeles after graduating.