Christopher Trumbo, the son of Dalton Trumbo, was born in Los Angeles in 1940. A graduate of Columbia College in New York City, he began working in motion pictures in 1960 as an assistant director on Otto Preminger's production of Exodus. For the last 35 years he has worked as a writer, primarily in the motion picture and television industries. He shared a writing credit with his father on the television film "Ishi: The Last of his Tribe", completing the project after his father died. His play "Trumbo" premiered in 2003 in New York City and went on to be performed across the United States in regional theaters and on tour. The play served as the basis for the documentary feature of the same title released in 2007.