Justin Halpern
Encyclopedia
Justin Samuel Halpern is the American
author
of the Twitter
feed Shit My Dad Says
and the best-selling book of the same name. He was also the co-writer and co-executive producer of a CBS
television situation comedy
series based on the book.
neighborhood of San Diego, California
. His father is Jewish and his Italian American
mother is Catholic
. His father, Samuel Halpern, M.D., is a radiologist, now retired, who practiced at the University of California San Diego. A blunt-spoken man, he gave memorable, expletive-laden advice and comments to young Justin from childhood on. Samuel Halpern has been described as "a profane comic genius," "Lenny Bruce
with a stethoscope," "a scatological Socrates
showering rough wisdom on his son."
Halpern had a brief baseball career at San Diego State University
and graduated in 2003. He then headed for Hollywood looking for work as a writer
. He wrote screenplays and waited tables, but success as a screenwriter eluded him. By 2009 he was a full-time writer for Maxim Magazine
's online site and no longer needed to live in Los Angeles. He moved back to San Diego and wound up living with his parents.
Halpern had always kept a record of his father’s salty comments. Some, repeated to him by brothers, cousins and other relatives, go back to when he was 4 or 5 years old. When he started living with his parents, his record of his father’s remarks became a daily journal. On August 3, 2009, he started a Twitter
feed, @shitmydadsays, just to have a place to store his father’s rhetorical gems. He thought he might use some of them someday in a script. On the Twitter site he explains, "I'm 29. I live with my 74-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says."
To his surprise he quickly gathered a large following on Twitter. A friend posted a link to his feed, then Rob Corddry
tweeted it, and "that really jump-started it" according to Halpern. By mid-August he had more than 100,000 followers. By October he had a book deal with Harper Collins, and by November he had a television deal with Warner Bros.
As of November 2010 his Twitter feed had more than 1.8 million followers. By September of the following year he had over 2.6 million following his Twitter account, all eager to hear the profane, hysterical and surprisingly thought-provoking words of his father.
He and his longtime writing partner Patrick Schumacker completed the book, with the title Sh*t My Dad Says, in February 2010 and it was published in May. In June it topped the The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover nonfiction.
The television show was called $#*! My Dad Says
' onMouseout='HidePop("48811")' href="/topics/Bleep_censor">Bleep
My Dad Says") with William Shatner
in the title role as the colorful curmudgeon. The pilot, written by Halpern and Schumacker, was filmed in March 2010, and CBS
picked it up in May. It premiered on September 23, 2010. Halpern said the series is about "the dichotomy of this older guy who says whatever he wants and this younger guy who is tiptoeing through life," careful not to offend anyone for fear of losing jobs or friends. The TV series was cancelled in May 2011 by CBS.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
of the Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
feed Shit My Dad Says
Shit My Dad Says
Shit My Dad Says is a Twitter feed started by Justin Halpern, who, at the time, was a semi-employed comedy writer. It consists of quotes made by Halpern's father, Sam, regarding various subjects. Halpern started the account on August 3, 2009, soon after moving from Los Angeles back to his...
and the best-selling book of the same name. He was also the co-writer and co-executive producer of a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
series based on the book.
Life and career
Halpern grew up in the Point LomaPoint Loma, San Diego, California
Point Loma is a seaside community of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the San Diego Bay and Old Town and the north by the San Diego River...
neighborhood of San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. His father is Jewish and his Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
mother is Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. His father, Samuel Halpern, M.D., is a radiologist, now retired, who practiced at the University of California San Diego. A blunt-spoken man, he gave memorable, expletive-laden advice and comments to young Justin from childhood on. Samuel Halpern has been described as "a profane comic genius," "Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
with a stethoscope," "a scatological Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
showering rough wisdom on his son."
Halpern had a brief baseball career at San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
and graduated in 2003. He then headed for Hollywood looking for work as a 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:...
. He wrote screenplays and waited tables, but success as a screenwriter eluded him. By 2009 he was a full-time writer for Maxim Magazine
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
's online site and no longer needed to live in Los Angeles. He moved back to San Diego and wound up living with his parents.
Halpern had always kept a record of his father’s salty comments. Some, repeated to him by brothers, cousins and other relatives, go back to when he was 4 or 5 years old. When he started living with his parents, his record of his father’s remarks became a daily journal. On August 3, 2009, he started a Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
feed, @shitmydadsays, just to have a place to store his father’s rhetorical gems. He thought he might use some of them someday in a script. On the Twitter site he explains, "I'm 29. I live with my 74-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says."
To his surprise he quickly gathered a large following on Twitter. A friend posted a link to his feed, then Rob Corddry
Rob Corddry
Robert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
tweeted it, and "that really jump-started it" according to Halpern. By mid-August he had more than 100,000 followers. By October he had a book deal with Harper Collins, and by November he had a television deal with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
As of November 2010 his Twitter feed had more than 1.8 million followers. By September of the following year he had over 2.6 million following his Twitter account, all eager to hear the profane, hysterical and surprisingly thought-provoking words of his father.
He and his longtime writing partner Patrick Schumacker completed the book, with the title Sh*t My Dad Says, in February 2010 and it was published in May. In June it topped the The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover nonfiction.
The television show was called $#*! My Dad Says
Shit My Dad Says (TV series)
$#*! My Dad Says is an American television sitcom produced by Warner Bros. Television that aired on CBS. It was based on the Twitter feed Shit My Dad Says, created by Justin Halpern and consisting of quotes from his father, Sam....
' onMouseout='HidePop("48811")' href="/topics/Bleep_censor">Bleep
Bleep censor
A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity or classified information with a beep sound , in television or radio...
My Dad Says") with William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
in the title role as the colorful curmudgeon. The pilot, written by Halpern and Schumacker, was filmed in March 2010, and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
picked it up in May. It premiered on September 23, 2010. Halpern said the series is about "the dichotomy of this older guy who says whatever he wants and this younger guy who is tiptoeing through life," careful not to offend anyone for fear of losing jobs or friends. The TV series was cancelled in May 2011 by CBS.