Neal Israel is an American actor, screenwriter

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:...

, film

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 and 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...

 and director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 best known for his comedic work in the 1980s.

Career

Israel started his career on the Broadway stage as assistant to legendary director George Abbott

George Abbott

George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...

. After working at the New Dramatists Guild and the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference he came to LA, and was an executive at both ABC and CBS. During this time he wrote and directed the break through indie hit, TUNNELVISION which introduced such future stars as Chevy Chase, John Candy and Al Franken. On television, he wrote RINGO, a special that starred Ringo Starr and George Harrison. He then wrote with his partner, Pat Proft, the first POLICE ACADEMY movie which spawned seven sequels. He directed and co wrote Bachelor Party, which starred Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...

. He followed this with the comedy Moving Violations

Moving Violations

Moving Violations is a 1985 comedy film starring John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, Brian Backer, Sally Kellerman, Nedra Volz, Clara Peller, Wendie Jo Sperber and Fred Willard. It was directed by Neal Israel...

. Real Genius

Real Genius

Real Genius is a 1985 satirical comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge. The film's screenplay was written by Neal Israel, Pat Proft and Peter Torokvei. It stars Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret....

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

Val Kilmer

Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...

, and in 1987, he produced the film Three O'Clock High

Three O'Clock High

Three O'Clock High is a 1987 high-school comedy film, directed by Phil Joanou, written by Richard Christian Matheson and Thomas Szollosi, and produced by Aaron Spelling. It was filmed at Ogden High School in Ogden, Utah, but, in part, was inspired by Joanou's own experiences at La Canada High School...

. He also directed "Breaking The Rules" starring Jason Bateman and the cult classic, "Surf Ninjas" with Rob Schneider and Leslie Nielson.

Neal continues to work in both film and television as a writer, director and producer and script doctor. He has directed numerous MOW's, pilots and episodes of shows like The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII....

, Nash Bridges

Nash Bridges

Nash Bridges is an American television police drama created by Carlton Cuse. The show starred Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. The show ran for six seasons on CBS from March 29, 1996 to May 4, 2001 with a total of...

, "Joan of Arcadia", and Even Stevens

Even Stevens

Even Stevens is an American comedy television series that aired on Disney Channel with a total of three seasons and 65 episodes from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003...

. Recent directing credits include Disney's Zeke and Luther and Kickin It.

In 2004, he executive produced

Executive producer

An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...

 the Academy Award nominated film Finding Neverland

Finding Neverland

Finding Neverland is a 2004 semi-biographical film about playwright J. M. Barrie and his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan, directed by Marc Forster. The screenplay by David Magee is based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee...

which starred Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...

 and Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet

Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...

.

Personal life

During the eighties, Neal married director Amy Heckerling

Amy Heckerling

Amy Heckerling is an American film director, one of the few female directors to have produced multiple box-office hits.-Early life:...

. They had one daughter, Mollie, before divorcing in 1984.

As Director

• Tunnel Vision
  Tunnel Vision (film)
  Tunnel Vision is 1976 comedy anthology film featuring Roger Bowen, Chevy Chase, John Candy, Howard Hesseman, Joe Flaherty, Laraine Newman, Betty Thomas, Phil Proctor, Al Franken, Ron Silver, Tom Davis, Michael Overly. It was directed by Neal Israel and Bradley R...
  
  (with Bradley R. Swirnoff) (1976)
• Americathon
  Americathon
  Americathon is a 1979 American comedy film starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin, based on a play by Firesign Theatre alumni Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman...
  
  (1979)
• Bachelor Party
  Bachelor Party (film)
  The soundtrack album from Bachelor Party was released in 1984.Side one:# "American Beat '84" – The Fleshtones # "Something Isn't Right" – Oingo Boingo # "Crazy Over You" – Jools Holland # "Little Demon" – Adrian Zmed...
  
  (1984)
• Moving Violations
  Moving Violations
  Moving Violations is a 1985 comedy film starring John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, Brian Backer, Sally Kellerman, Nedra Volz, Clara Peller, Wendie Jo Sperber and Fred Willard. It was directed by Neal Israel...
  
  (1985)
• The George Burns Comedy Week (1985) (TV)
• Combat Academy
  Combat Academy
  Combat Academy is a 1986 comedy film by the creator of Police Academy, Neal Israel.-Synopsis:Best friends Max Mendelsson and Perry Barnett are sent to military school after one prank too many...
  
  (1986)
• The Cover Girl and the Cop (1989) (TV)
• The Wonder Years
  The Wonder Years
  The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII....
  
  (1991) (TV)
• Breaking the Rules (1992) (aka Sketches)
• Surf Ninjas
  Surf Ninjas
  Surf Ninjas is a 1993 American comedic family film involving martial arts, directed by Neal Israel and written by Dan Gordon. The film stars Ernie Reyes Jr., Rob Schneider, Nicolas Cowan, and Leslie Nielsen...
  
  (1993)
• Harts of the West
  Harts of the West
  Harts of the West is an American Western/comedy–drama series starring Beau Bridges and his father, Lloyd Bridges, set on a dude ranch in Nevada. The series aired on CBS from September 1993, to June 1994.-Synopsis:...
  
  (1994) (TV)
• Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare (1995) (TV)
• Dad's Week Off
  Dad's Week Off
  Dad's Week Off is a television film that premiered on Showtime in 1997. It was written and directed by Neal Israel, and starred Henry Winkler, Olivia d'Abo and Richard Jeni.-Plot:...
  
  (1997) (TV)
• The Love Boat: The Next Wave
  The Love Boat: The Next Wave
  The Love Boat: The Next Wave is an American television series which was based on the ABC sitcom The Love Boat. The series aired on UPN from 1998 to 1999.-Plot:...
  
  (1999) (TV)
• Clueless
  Clueless (TV series)
  Clueless is a television series spun off from the 1995 teen film of the same name . The series originally premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996 as a part of the TGIF lineup during its first season...
  
  (1997–1999) (TV)
• Shasta McNasty
  Shasta McNasty
  Shasta McNasty is an American sitcom that aired on UPN during the 1999-2000 season. The show was created by Jeff Eastin and produced by Eastin and Neal H. Moritz...
  
  (1999) (TV)
• Even Stevens
  Even Stevens
  Even Stevens is an American comedy television series that aired on Disney Channel with a total of three seasons and 65 episodes from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003...
  
  (2000) (TV)
• The Poof Point
  The Poof Point
  The Poof Point is a Disney Channel Original Movie. This movie is based on the children's novel "The Poof Point" by Ellen Weiss, M. Friedman.- Plot :...
  
  (2001) (TV)
• Lizzie McGuire
  Lizzie McGuire
  Lizzie McGuire is an American teen sitcom which premiered on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 and ended February 14, 2004. A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents...
  
  (2001) (TV)
• The Mind of the Married Man
  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 attempts to focus on the challenges of modern-day married life from a male perspective.The show drew mixed reviews from...
  
  (2001) (TV)
• Family Affair (2002) (TV)
• The Brady Bunch in the White House
  The Brady Bunch in the White House
  The Brady Bunch in the White House is a 2002 TV movie. It is the second sequel to the The Brady Bunch Movie , following A Very Brady Sequel . It was directed by Neal Israel and written by Lloyd J...
  
  (2002) (TV)
• Do Over
  Do Over
  Do Over is an American comedy-drama/fantasy series created by Kenny Schwartz and Rick Wiener. The series, which was broadcast on The WB in 2002, stars Penn Badgley.-Synopsis:...
  
  (2002) (TV)
• National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion
  National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion
  National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion is a 2003 TV movie about a Thanksgiving family reunion of the Sniders, starring Bryan Cranston as Woodrow Snider, Judge Reinhold as Dr. Mitch Snider and Penelope Ann Miller as Jill Snider. The film was released as National Lampoon's Holiday Reunion in...
  
  (2003) (TV)
• Phil of the Future
  Phil of the Future
  Phil of the Future is an American situation comedy that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 18, 2004, to August 19, 2006 for a total of two seasons. The series was created by Tim Maile and Douglas Tuber and produced by 2121 Productions, a part of Brookwell McNamara Entertainment...
  
  (2004) (TV)
• About a Girl
  About A Girl (TV series)
  About a Girl is a Canadian comedy series which premiered on October 5, 2007 on The N in the U.S. and Global in Canada. It was the first scripted comedy for The N. The series ended with 13 episodes in its only season.-Plot:...
  
  (2007) (TV)
• The Fresh Beat Band
  The Fresh Beat Band
  The Fresh Beat Band is a children TV show with original pop songs produced for Nick Jr.. The Fresh Beats are Shout, Twist, Marina, and Kiki, described as four best friends in a band who go to music school together and love to sing and dance...
  
  (2010) (TV)
• Zeke and Luther
  Zeke and Luther
  Zeke and Luther is an American Disney XD sitcom about two best friends setting their sights on becoming the world's greatest skateboarders. The show stars Hutch Dano, Adam Hicks, Daniel Curtis Lee and Ryan Newman ....
  
  (2011) (TV)

As Producer

• Twilight Theater
  Twilight Theater
  -Release history:-Singles:-Trivia:*The track War is featured in the video-game Alan Wake*The track 15 Minute Flame was partly inspired by the movie The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis...
  
  (1982) (TV)
• Three O'Clock High
  Three O'Clock High
  Three O'Clock High is a 1987 high-school comedy film, directed by Phil Joanou, written by Richard Christian Matheson and Thomas Szollosi, and produced by Aaron Spelling. It was filmed at Ogden High School in Ogden, Utah, but, in part, was inspired by Joanou's own experiences at La Canada High School...
  
  (1987)
• Life on the Flipside (1987)
• CBS Summer Playhouse
  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:...
  
  (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
  The Runner
  The Runner is a 1985 film by Amir Naderi, one of the major directors of Iranian cinema before and after the Iranian Revolution....
  
  (1999)
• Miracles
  Miracles (TV series)
  Miracles is an American drama television program starring Skeet Ulrich and Angus Macfadyen. Created by Richard Hatem and Michael Petroni, the series has sometimes been dubbed a "spiritual version of The X-Files" by its creators...
  
  (2003) (TV)
• Finding Neverland
  Finding Neverland
  Finding Neverland is a 2004 semi-biographical film about playwright J. M. Barrie and his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan, directed by Marc Forster. The screenplay by David Magee is based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee...
  
  (2004)

As Writer

• Yogi's Gang
  Yogi's Gang
  Yogi's Gang is a 30-minute animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired 16 half-hour episodes on ABC from , to . The show began as Yogi's Ark Lark, a special TV movie on The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie in 1972...
  
  (1973) (TV)
• Tunnelvision (with Michael Mislove) (1976)
• Cracking Up
  Cracking Up
  For the movie, see Cracking Up .Cracking Up is an American television sitcom created by School of Rock writer Mike White, who also served as the series' head writer. It aired on the Fox Network on Monday nights from March to May 2004. The title of the program and the name of the psychiatrist, Dr...
  
  (with Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman
  Peter Bergman
  Peter Bergman is an American soap opera actor best known for his portrayals as Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children, as well as Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless.-Biography:...
  
  , The Credibility Gap
  The Credibility Gap
  The Credibility Gap was a satirical comedy team comprising Harry Shearer, Richard Beebe, David L. Lander and Michael McKean. Lew Irwin, John Gilliland, Thom Beck, and Len Chandler also performed in their early days...
  
   and The Ace Trucking Company) (1977)
• Americathon
  Americathon
  Americathon is a 1979 American comedy film starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin, based on a play by Firesign Theatre alumni Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman...
  
  (with Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman
  Peter Bergman
  Peter Bergman is an American soap opera actor best known for his portrayals as Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children, as well as Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless.-Biography:...
  
  , Michael Mislove and Monica Johnson
  Monica Johnson
  Monica McGowan Johnson was an American novelist and screenwriter whose film credits included Mother, Lost in America, Modern Romance, Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again and The Muse. Her television credits included The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Laverne & Shirley...
  
  ) (1979)
• All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special (1980) (TV)
• Steve Martin's Twilight Theater (1982) (TV)
• Police Academy
  Police Academy
  Police Academy is a series of American comedy films, the first six of which were made in the 1980s. The seventh and to date last installment, Mission to Moscow, was released in 1994. The series opened with Police Academy which started with the premise that a new mayor had announced a policy...
  
  (with Pat Proft
  Pat Proft
  Patrick "Pat" Proft is an American comedy writer and actor.Proft was born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, the son of Marguerite and Bob Proft. He began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. In the mid-1970s, he began writing for television and films...
  
   and Hugh Wilson
  Hugh Wilson
  Hugh Wilson is an American director, writer and actor. He is best known as the creator and executive producer of the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati and Frank's Place....
  
  ) (1984)
• Bachelor Party
  Bachelor party
  A bachelor party , also known as a stag party, stag night or stag do , a bull's party , or a buck's party or buck's night , is a party held for a man shortly before he enters marriage, to celebrate his "last night of freedom" or merely to spend...
  
  (with Pat Proft
  Pat Proft
  Patrick "Pat" Proft is an American comedy writer and actor.Proft was born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, the son of Marguerite and Bob Proft. He began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. In the mid-1970s, he began writing for television and films...
  
  ) (1984)
• Moving Violations
  Moving Violations
  Moving Violations is a 1985 comedy film starring John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, Brian Backer, Sally Kellerman, Nedra Volz, Clara Peller, Wendie Jo Sperber and Fred Willard. It was directed by Neal Israel...
  
  (with Pat Proft
  Pat Proft
  Patrick "Pat" Proft is an American comedy writer and actor.Proft was born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, the son of Marguerite and Bob Proft. He began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. In the mid-1970s, he began writing for television and films...
  
  ) (1985)
• Real Genius
  Real Genius
  Real Genius is a 1985 satirical comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge. The film's screenplay was written by Neal Israel, Pat Proft and Peter Torokvei. It stars Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret....
  
  (with Pat Proft
  Pat Proft
  Patrick "Pat" Proft is an American comedy writer and actor.Proft was born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, the son of Marguerite and Bob Proft. He began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. In the mid-1970s, he began writing for television and films...
  
   and Peter Torokvei) (1985)
• Look Who's Talking Too
  Look Who's Talking Too
  Look Who's Talking Too is the 1990 sequel to the commercially successful movie Look Who's Talking . It stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as the parents of Mikey , a toddler coping with the newest addition to the family, baby Julie...
  
  (with Amy Heckerling
  Amy Heckerling
  Amy Heckerling is an American film director, one of the few female directors to have produced multiple box-office hits.-Early life:...
  
  ) (1990)
• The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley: The Case of the Sea World Adventure (with Arnold Margolin
  Arnold Margolin
  Arnold Margolin is an American television producer, screen writer, and director.He shared composition credits for the theme song for Love, American Style, along with Charles Fox ....
  
  ) (1995) (Video Short)
• The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley: The Case of the Mystery Cruise (with Arnold Margolin
  Arnold Margolin
  Arnold Margolin is an American television producer, screen writer, and director.He shared composition credits for the theme song for Love, American Style, along with Charles Fox ....
  
  ) (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
  Dad's Week Off
  Dad's Week Off is a television film that premiered on Showtime in 1997. It was written and directed by Neal Israel, and starred Henry Winkler, Olivia d'Abo and Richard Jeni.-Plot:...
  
  (1997) (TV)
• Police Academy: The Series
  Police Academy: The Series
  Police Academy: The Series is a syndicated 1997 television series spin-off from the Police Academy series of films. Michael Winslow was the only actor from the Police Academy films to have a recurring role on the show, although several of the film's cast made occasional guest appearances. The...
  
  (1997) (TV)
• The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights (1999) (TV)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Series
1981	Writers Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...	Won	Variety, Musical or Comedy	All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special (Shared with Jeffrey Barron, Earl Brown, Carmen Finestra Carmen Finestra Carmen Finestra is an American producer and TV writer who currently is partnered with Matt Williams and David McFadzean in Wind Dancer Productions, a firm which Finestra also co-owns... , Denny Johnston, Sean Kelly, Steve Martin Steve Martin Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer.... , Pat McCormick Pat McCormick (comic) Pat McCormick was an American actor and comedy writer known for playing Big Enos Burdette in Smokey and the Bandit and its two sequels. He wrote for a number of performers such as Red Skelton, Phyllis Diller and Johnny Carson as well as for shows including Get Smart... , Michael McManus, Pat Proft, and Mason Williams Mason Williams Mason Williams is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live... )
2002	BAFTA Awards	Nominated	Best International	Lizzie McGuire (Shared with Susan Estelle Jansen Susan Estelle Jansen Susan Estelle Jansen Corbett is an American television producer and writer.Her credits include Home Improvement, Boy Meets World, Maybe This Time, You Wish and Lizzie McGuire.... )

External links