Bob Gale

Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, producer and film director. He co-wrote the science fiction comedy film Back to the Future with writing partner Robert Zemeckis, and the screenplays for the film's two sequels. Gale also co-produced all three films and served as associate producer on the subsequent animated TV series. Michael J. Fox noted that Back to the Future co-creator Bob Gale is "the gatekeeper" for the franchise.

For the English cricketer, see Bob Gale (cricketer).
For other persons with a similar name, see Robert Gale (disambiguation).
Bob Gale
Born
Michael Robert Gale

(1951-05-25) May 25, 1951
University City, Missouri, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Southern California, B.A. 1973
OccupationWriter

Early life

Gale was born to a Jewish family[1] in University City, Missouri, the son of Maxine, née Kippel, (died 2010),[2] an art dealer and violinist, and Mark R. Gale (1922-2018),[3] an attorney, World War II veteran, and later a University City councilman.[4] He is the oldest of his two other brothers, Charlie, who wrote the screenplay for Ernest Scared Stupid,[5] and Randy. Gale received a B.A. in Cinema in 1973 from the University of Southern California, where he wrote fanzine reviews for classmate Mike Glyer's fanzine, and met classmate Zemeckis.

As a teen, he created his own comic book, The Green Vomit, using spirit duplication, and also co-founded a popular comic book club in St. Louis. Later, he and his brother Charlie made his own amateur three-film series parody of the Republic Pictures Commando Cody serials, using the character name "Commando Cus".

The last two of these were made in collaboration with Richard Rosenberg. (Rosenberg had taken over the series with the third, 1973's Commando Cus vs. Kung Fu Killers, in which Gale made a cameo appearance as the title character without his face-covering helmet, and was working on a fourth at the time of his death.)

Career

Film and stage

As screenwriters, Gale and Zemeckis have collaborated on films including 1941, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Used Cars, and Trespass, the last set in East St. Louis, Illinois near Gale's home town.

Gale and Zemeckis were nominated for an Academy Award for their screenplay for Back to the Future.

In 2002, Gale debuted as a feature-film director with Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road. He had previously directed and written the 20-minute theatrical release Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie. He also wrote the novelization for his movie 1941 and helped develop the arcade game Tattoo Assassins.

On 31 January 2014, it was announced that a stage musical adaptation of the first Back to the Future film was in production.[6][7][8]

Comic books

As a teenager, Bob Gale wrote to Marvel Comics, and a letter to Stan Lee appears in Iron Man #2, published in June 1968.

Gale has written for comics, including Marvel Comics' Ant-Man's Big Christmas and DC Comics' Batman. In 2001, Gale had a short run on Marvel Comics' Daredevil, writing issues #20-25 of Volume 2. Working with artists Phil Winslade and David Ross, they created the story arc "Playing to the Camera." Writer-painter David Mack contributed covers to the run.

In 2008 Gale worked as one of the writers among the rotating writer/artist teams on The Amazing Spider-Man, which at the time, was published three times a month. His issues included #546, #552-554, #558, #562-564, #600, #647.

Selected filmography

References
  1. Suman, Michael (1997). Religion and Prime Time Television. Praeger. p. 137. My name's Bob Gale. I'm a writer, producer, and director; most of my work is in motion pictures, and my best known works are the three "Back to the Future" films, which I wrote and produced. I consider myself Jewish, although I'm not a member of a congregation, nor am I terribly observant.
  2. "Maxine K. Gale, obituary". Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  3. "Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale mourns the passing of longtime partner Mark Gale". Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  4. Holleman, Joe (March 6, 2018). "U. City's Mark Gale, inspiration for 'Back To The Future," dies at 95". Saint Louis Post-Dispatch.
  5. "Michael Robert Gale biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  6. "Back to the Future musical announced". BBC News. January 31, 2014.
  7. "Back to the Future: 80s movie gets musical makeover". theguardian.com. The Guardian. January 31, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  8. "Back to the Future: stage musical version of 80s classic film to hit London's West End". standard.co.uk. London Evening Standard. January 31, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
Preceded by
Brian Bendis		 Daredevil writer
2001		 Succeeded by
Brian Bendis
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