Neal Israel

Neal Israel
Occupation Director, producer, writer and actor
Years active 1973–present
Spouse(s) Amy Heckerling (m. 1984; div. 1984)
Children Mollie Israel (b. 1985)

Neal Israel 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, and Bachelor Party.

Biography

Career

Israel started his career on the Broadway stage as assistant to legendary director George Abbott. 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 Tunnel Vision, 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 six sequels. He directed and co wrote Bachelor Party, which starred Tom Hanks. He followed this with the comedy Moving Violations. Real Genius, another of his scripts, was made into a successful film starring Val Kilmer, 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 and producer and script doctor. He has directed numerous movies of the week, pilots, and episodes of shows such as The Wonder Years, Nash Bridges, "Joan of Arcadia", and Even Stevens. Recent directing credits include Disney's Zeke and Luther and Kickin It.

In 2004, he executive produced the Academy Award nominated film Finding Neverland which starred Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet.

Personal life

During the eighties, Neal married director Amy Heckerling. They had one daughter, Mollie, before divorcing in 1984.[1]

Filmography

As director

As producer

As writer

As actor

As Special Thanks

Awards and nominations

Year Award Result Category Series
1981 Writers Guild of America Award Won Variety, Musical or Comedy All Commercials... A Steve Martin Special (Shared with Jeffrey Barron, Earl Brown, Carmen Finestra, Denny Johnston, Sean Kelly, Steve Martin, Pat McCormick, Michael McManus, Pat Proft, and Mason Williams)
2002 BAFTA Awards Nominated Best International Lizzie McGuire (Shared with Susan Estelle Jansen)

References

  1. ↑ "Neal Israel Biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
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