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

Police Academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or to o ...

'', ''

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

'', and ''

Bachelor Party A bachelor party (in the United States), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia and Canada), is a party held for or arranged by a man wh ...

''. Israel has also directed episodes for several TV shows, including '' The Fresh Beat Band'', ''

Lizzie McGuire ''Lizzie McGuire'' is an American television comedy, 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 learns to navigate the person ...

'', '' Zeke and Luther'', '' Dog with a Blog'', and '' I Didn't Do It''.

Biography

Career

Raised in Manhattan in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, Israel started his career on the Broadway stage as assistant to legendary director

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. He received numerous honors including six Tony Awards, the ...

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

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and was an executive at both ABC and CBS. During this time he wrote and directed the break through indie hit ''

Tunnel Vision Tunnel vision is the loss of peripheral vision with retention of central vision, resulting in a constricted circular tunnel-like field of vision. Causes Tunnel vision can be caused by: Eyeglass users Eyeglass users experience 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 the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Tor ...

and

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, and actor who served from 2009 to 2018 as a United States senator from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he worked as an ...

. On television, he wrote '' Ringo,'' a special that starred

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

and

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

. He then wrote with his partner,

Pat Proft Pat Proft (born 1947) is an American comedy writer, actor, and director. Born in Minnesota in 1947, Proft began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis in the mid-1960s. He went on to perform as a one-man comedy act in the ...

, the first ''Police Academy'' movie, which spawned six sequels. He directed and co-wrote ''

'', 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 (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

, 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 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 Bowl X ...

'', '' Nash Bridges'', ''

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 f ...

'', and ''

Even Stevens ''Even Stevens'' is an American comedy television series produced by Brookwell McNamara Entertainment that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003, airing a total of 65 episodes spanning three seasons. It follows ...

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

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-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 as well as nominations for ...

and

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...

. In July 2017, Israel said he was working on a comedy with his longterm partner

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. They divorced in 1980. After being hired by director

Amy Heckerling Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American writer, producer, and director. Heckerling started out her career after graduating from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, New York University and entering the American Film Institute, ...

to work on '' Johnny Dangerously'', the two began a relationship and married in July 1984. The couple divorced in 1990 after making '' Look Who's Talking Too'' together. Israel believed their daughter, Mollie, was biologically his until a DNA test showed she was the biological daughter of director

Harold Ramis Harold Allen Ramis ( ; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His film acting roles include Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russell Ziskey in '' St ...

Filmography

Film

Producer * '' Three O'Clock High'' (1987) * '' The Runner'' (1999) Executive producer * ''Chocolate for Breakfast'' (1998) * '' Finding Neverland'' (2004) * '' Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation'' (2008)

Television

Director * '' The George Burns Comedy Week'' (1985) * ''

'' (1991) * '' Harts of the West'' (1994) * '' Love Boat: The Next Wave'' (1999) * '' Clueless'' (1997–1999) * ''

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 Giovinaz ...

'' (1999) * ''

'' (2000) * ''

'' (2001) * '' The Mind of the Married Man'' (2001) * ''

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 attempt ...

'' (2002) * '' Do Over'' (2002) * ''

Phil of the Future ''Phil of the Future'' is an American science fiction comedy television series that originally aired on Disney Channel for two seasons from June 18, 2004, to August 19, 2006. It was created by Douglas Tuber and Tim Maile and produced by 2121 Pr ...

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Flight 29 Down'' (2007) * '' About a Girl'' (2007) * '' The Fresh Beat Band'' (2010) * '' Zeke and Luther'' (2011) * '' Dog with a Blog'' (2013) * '' I Didn't Do It'' (2015) Producer * '' Twilight Theater'' (1982) * ''

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 th ...

'' (1988) * '' Miracles'' (2003) Writer * '' Yogi's Gang'' (1973) * ''All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special'' (1980) TV movies

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 American comedy film directors Television producers from California Television writers from California Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Writers Guild of America Award winners American male television writers Film directors from California