for the writer, musician, composer.

for the electronic musician who records under the alias Smite Matter.

David Israel (b. March 17, 1951 in New York City, New York) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television producer

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

, writer

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

, former sportswriter

Sports journalism

Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...

 and general columnist. A 1973 graduate of Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

's Medill School of Journalism

Medill School of Journalism

The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University which offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It has consistently been one of the top-ranked schools in Journalism in the United States...

, Israel wrote for the Chicago Daily News

Chicago Daily News

The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...

, Washington Star

Washington Star

The Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...

, the Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

(for which he wrote a nationally syndicated column) and the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner

The Los Angeles Herald Examiner was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published Monday through Friday in the afternoon, and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. The afternoon Herald-Express and the morning Examiner, both of which had been publishing in...

. He is known for violating the "old bylaw" of neutrality in journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

 when he announced at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics

1980 Winter Olympics

The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...

 hockey game at which the American team eventually beat the Russians, "Gentlemen, there will be cheering in the press box." He was right.

Israel went on to a career in Hollywood as producer and writer of hour-long television dramas and made-for-television movies and mini-series. His credits include co-executive producer/writer of Tremors: The Series, Midnight Caller

Midnight Caller

Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio...

and The Untouchables

The Untouchables (1993 TV series)

The Untouchables is an American crime drama series that aired for two seasons in syndication, from January 1993 to May 1994. The series portrayed work of the real life Untouchables federal investigative squad in Prohibition-era Chicago and its efforts against Al Capone's attempts to profit from the...

, writer/producer of A Comedy Salute to Baseball Starring Billy Crystal, and a writer on the baseball-themed series Bay City Blues

Bay City Blues

Bay City Blues is an American comedy-drama series that aired on NBC from October 1983 to November 1983. The series stars Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, and Pat Corley, and was created and produced by Steven Bochco.-Synopsis:...

. He also executive produced The Port Chicago Mutiny, Pandora's Clock, House of Frankenstein. and Y2K.

In 2000, Don Ohlmeyer

Don Ohlmeyer

Don Ohlmeyer is an American television producer and former president of the NBC network's West Coast division. Currently, Don Ohlmeyer is a Professor of Television Communications at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California...

 hired Israel as coordinating producer to help him retool ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

's Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

. In a controversial move, they hired comedian Dennis Miller

Dennis Miller

Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...

 to join Al Michaels

Al Michaels

Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...

 and Dan Fouts

Dan Fouts

Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...

 in the broadcast booth.

In 1984, Israel served as Director, Officer of the President for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. In 2004, Governor of California

Governor of California

The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...

 Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....

, a personal friend, appointed Israel, a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, to the California Science Center

California Science Center

The California Science Center is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. Billed as the West Coast's largest hands-on science center, the California ScienCenter is a public-private partnership between the State and the California Science Center Foundation...

 Board. He is currently president of the Los Angeles Coliseum

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...

 Commission, having served on the Commission since 2005. In 2008, Schwarzenegger appointed him to the California Horse Racing Board

California Horse Racing Board

The California Horse Racing Board was established in 1933 as an independent agency of the State of California, United States. The CHRB has authority over the regulation of horse racing and parimutuel betting at licensed California race tracks...

; as a sports columnist, Israel wrote about the Triple Crown

United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...

 triumphs of "Seattle Slew

Seattle Slew

Seattle Slew was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1977, the tenth of eleven horses to accomplish the feat. He remains the only horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated. In the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S...

" and "Affirmed

Affirmed

Affirmed was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the eleventh and most recent winner of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing...

," and about the Preakness

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 and Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...

.