Neal Israel (born July 27, 1945) is an American actor, screenwriter, film and television producer, and director best known for his comedic work in the 1980s for films such as '' Police Academy'', ''

Real Genius ''Real Genius'' is a 1985 American comic science fiction film directed by Martha Coolidge and written by Neal Israel, Pat Proft, and PJ Torokvei. Starring Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret, the film, set on the campus of Pacific Tech, a science ...

'', and '' Bachelor Party''.

Biography

Career

Raised in Manhattan in a Jewish family, Israel started his career on the Broadway stage as assistant to legendary director

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Y ...

. After working at the New Dramatists Guild and the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference, he came to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, and was an executive at both ABC and CBS. During this time he wrote and directed the break through indie hit '' Tunnel Vision,'' which introduced such future stars as

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' seri ...

and

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

. On television, he wrote ''

Ringo Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

,'' a special that starred

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

and

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

. He then wrote with his partner, Pat Proft, the first ''Police Academy'' movie, which spawned six sequels. He directed and co-wrote '' Bachelor Party'', which starred

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

. He followed this with the comedy '' Moving Violations''. ''

'', another of his scripts, was made into a successful film starring

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

, and in 1987, he produced the film '' Three O'Clock High''. He also directed '' Breaking The Rules'' starring Jason Bateman and the cult classic '' Surf Ninjas'' with Rob Schneider and Leslie Nielsen. Neal continues to work in both film and television as a writer, director, producer, and script doctor. He has directed numerous movies of the week, pilots, and episodes of shows such as ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...

'', ''

Nash Bridges ''Nash Bridges'' is an American police procedural television series created by Carlton Cuse. The show stars Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The s ...

'', ''

Joan of Arcadia ''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi ( Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS ...

'', and ''

Even Stevens ''Even Stevens'' is an American comedy television series that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003, airing a total of 65 episodes over three seasons. It follows the life of the Stevens, a family living in subur ...

''. Recent directing credits include Disney's ''Zeke and Luther'' and ''Kickin It.'' In 2004, he executive-produced the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated film '' Finding Neverland'', which starred

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

and

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, inc ...

. In July 2017, Israel said he was working on a comedy with his longterm partner Pat Proft that will feature stars of the predominant comedic films of the '70s and '80s.

Personal life

His first marriage was to American singer/songwriter

Lori Lieberman Lori Lieberman (born November 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who accompanies herself on guitar and piano. She first came to public attention in the early 1970s with a series of albums on Capitol Records, the first of which featured t ...

. They divorced in 1980. After being hired by director

Amy Heckerling Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American filmmaker. An alumna of both New York University and the American Film Institute, she directed the commercially successful films ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), ''National Lampoon's Europ ...

to work on ''

Johnny Dangerously ''Johnny Dangerously'' is a 1984 American crime comedy film, and a parody of 1930s crime/gangster movies. It was directed by Amy Heckerling. The film stars Michael Keaton as an honest, goodhearted man who turns to a life of crime to finance hi ...

'', the two began a relationship and married in July 1984. The couple divorced in 1990 after making ''

Look Who's Talking Too ''Look Who's Talking Too'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film and a sequel to director Amy Heckerling's 1989 comedy ''Look Who's Talking''. The film stars the original cast members John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as James and Mollie Ubriacco, ...

'' together. Israel believed their daughter, Mollie, was biologically his until a DNA test showed she was the biological daughter of director Harold Ramis.

Filmography

As director

* '' Tunnel Vision'' (with Bradley R. Swirnoff) (1976) * ''

Americathon ''Americathon'' (also known as ''Americathon 1998'') is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Neal Israel and starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin. It is based ...

'' (1979) * '' Bachelor Party'' (1984) * '' Moving Violations'' (1985) * '' The George Burns Comedy Week'' (1985) (TV) * '' Combat Academy'' (1986) (TV) * '' The Cover Girl and the Cop'' (1989) (TV) * ''

'' (1991) (TV) * '' Breaking the Rules'' (1992) (aka ''Sketches'') * '' Surf Ninjas'' (1993) * ''

Harts of the West Harts of the West is a humorous contemporary western about a Chicago family moving to a run-down Nevada ranch. The series consisted of 15 hour-long episodes that aired on CBS Saturdays, 9:00 to 10:00 p.m., from September 1993 until June 1994. ...

'' (1994) (TV) * '' Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare'' (1995) (TV) * '' Dad's Week Off'' (1997) (TV) * '' Love Boat: The Next Wave'' (1999) (TV) * '' Clueless'' (1997–1999) (TV) * ''

Shasta McNasty ''Shasta McNasty'' (later retitled ''Shasta'') is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from October 5, 1999, to August 1, 2000. The show was created by Jeff Eastin and produced by Eastin and Neal H. Moritz. The show starred Carmine Giovinazzo, ...

'' (1999) (TV) * ''

'' (2000) (TV) * '' Hounded'' (2001) (TV) * '' The Poof Point'' (2001) (TV) * ''

Lizzie McGuire ''Lizzie McGuire'' is an American comedy television series created by Terri Minsky that premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001. The series stars Hilary Duff as the titular character, who navigates the personal and social issues of her t ...

'' (2001) (TV) * ''

The Mind of the Married Man ''The Mind of the Married Man'' is a television series that ran on the HBO network for two seasons consisting of twenty episodes between September 2001 and November 2002. The story focused on the challenges of modern-day married life from a male p ...

'' (2001) (TV) * ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attemp ...

'' (2002) (TV) * '' The Brady Bunch in the White House'' (2002) (TV) * ''

Do Over ''Do Over'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series created by Kenny Schwartz and Rick Wiener about a man who gets a chance to relive his childhood. The series, which was originally broadcast on The WB from September 19 to December 5, 200 ...

'' (2002) (TV) * '' National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion'' (2003) (TV) * '' Phil of the Future'' (2004) (TV) * ''

'' (2005) (TV) * '' Flight 29 Down'' (2007) (TV) * '' About a Girl'' (2007) (TV) * '' The Fresh Beat Band'' (2010) (TV) * '' Zeke and Luther'' (2011) (TV) * '' Dog with a Blog'' (2013) (TV) * '' I Didn't Do It'' (2015) (TV)

As producer

* '' Twilight Theater'' (1982) (TV) * '' Three O'Clock High'' (1987) * '' Life on the Flipside'' (1987) * ''

CBS Summer Playhouse ''CBS Summer Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that ran from June 12, 1987 to August 22, 1989 on CBS. It aired unsold television pilots during the summer season. Overview Tim Reid and Daphne Maxwell Reid acted as hosts during the firs ...

'' (1988) (TV) * '' Dream Date'' (1989) (TV) * '' Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story'' (1992) * '' Taking the Heat'' (1993) (TV) * '' Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare'' (1995) (TV) * '' Kidz in the Wood'' (1996) (TV) * '' Chocolate for Breakfast'' (1998) * '' The Runner'' (1999) * ''

Miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

'' (2003) (TV) * '' Finding Neverland'' (2004) * '' Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation'' (2008) (as executive producer)

As writer

* '' Yogi's Gang'' (1973) (TV) * '' Tunnel Vision'' (with Michael Mislove) (1976) * '' Cracking Up'' (with Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman, The Credibility Gap and The Ace Trucking Company) (1977) * ''

'' (with Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman, Michael Mislove and

Monica Johnson Monica Johnson (February 21, 1946 – November 1, 2010) was an American screenwriter whose film credits included ''Mother'', ''Lost in America'', '' Modern Romance'', '' Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again'' and '' The Muse''. Her television credi ...

) (1979) * '' All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special'' (1980) (TV) * '' Steve Martin's Twilight Theater'' (1982) (TV) * '' Police Academy'' (with Pat Proft and Hugh Wilson) (1984) * '' Bachelor Party'' (with Pat Proft) (1984) * '' Moving Violations'' (with Pat Proft) (1985) * ''

'' (with Pat Proft and Peter Torokvei) (1985) * ''

'' (with

) (1990) * '' The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley: The Case of the Sea World Adventure'' (with Arnold Margolin) (1995) (Video Short) * '' The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley: The Case of the Mystery Cruise'' (with Arnold Margolin) (1995) (Video Short) * '' Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare'' (with Patrick J. Clifton) (1995) (TV) * '' Kidz in the Wood'' (with Robert Klane) (1996) (TV) * '' Dad's Week Off'' (1997) (TV) * '' Police Academy: The Series'' (1997) (TV) * '' The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights'' (1999) (TV)

As actor

* ''

'' (1984) as Dr. Zilman * '' It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'' (1987) as Dr. Brewster * '' Look Who's Talking'' (1989) as Mr. Ross * ''

'' (1990) as Mr. Ross

As special thanks

* '' Stunt Sport'' (2014) (TV) * '' Patton 2015'' (2015) (Short)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Israel, Neal 1945 births American male film actors Film producers from California People from Manhattan Beach, California American male screenwriters American male television actors American television directors Comedy film directors Television producers from California American television writers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Writers Guild of America Award winners American male television writers Film directors from California Screenwriters from California