Bob Gale

Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film Back to the Future with his writing partner Robert Zemeckis. Gale co-produced all three films of the franchise and later served as associate producer of the animated TV series. Actor Michael J. Fox has referred to Gale as the "gatekeeper of the [Back to the Future] franchise".

Early life

Gale was born to a Jewish family in University City, Missouri; he is the son of Maxine (née Kippel and died in 2010), an art dealer and violinist, and Mark R. Gale (1922–2018), an attorney. Mark Gale was a World War II veteran and later a University City councilman. Bob Gale has two younger brothers: Charlie, who wrote the screenplay for Ernest Scared Stupid, and Randy. Bob Gale received a B.A. in Cinema in 1973 from the University of Southern California, where he met Robert Zemeckis, who was his classmate.

As a child, Gale dreamed he would one day "go to Hollywood and work for Walt Disney", who was his hero. As a teen, he created his own comic book, The Green Vomit, using spirit duplication; he was the co-founder of a popular comic book club in St. Louis. Later he and his brother Charlie made their own amateur three-film series parody of the Republic Pictures Commando Cody serials, using the character name "Commando Cus".

Career Film As screenwriters Gale and Zemeckis have collaborated on a number of films including 1941, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Used Cars, and Trespass. The last one was 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 made his debut 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. Gale's other work includes the novelization for his movie 1941 and he helped develop the unreleased arcade game Tattoo Assassins.

Gale, formerly a member of Writers Guild of America West, left and maintained financial core status in 1990.

Gale wrote the book and was a producer for the stage musical adaptation of the first Back to the Future film, which premiered in Manchester in 2020, then on the West End in 2021. The musical transferred to Broadway in August 2023 and closed in January 2025. The show is touring nationally, with international productions in Germany, Tokyo and Sydney.

He is featured in the 2019 documentary Framing John DeLorean.

Comics As a teenager, Bob Gale was a regular Marvel reader, and his fan letters appeared in Tales of Suspense #98, published in February 1968, and Iron Man #2-3, published in June–July 1968.

Gale began writing for comics in the late 90s, and his earliest work includes Ant-Man's Big Christmas for Marvel and Batman for DC Comics. In 2001, he had a short run on Marvel's Daredevil with artists Phil Winslade and Dave Ross. 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 other work in comics includes the Back to the Future monthly series published by IDW Publishing. The first issue was released in stores on October 21, 2015, which is the same date that Marty travels with Doc Brown to the future; the comic book is shown as part of the storyline for Part II.

Novels

In 1979, Gale published a novelization of 1941. In 2013, he published Retribution High, a novel based on his unproduced screenplay.

Selected filmography Kolchak: The Night Stalker (episode "Chopper", with Robert Zemeckis, 1975) (TV) I Wanna Hold Your Hand (with Robert Zemeckis, 1978) 1941 (with Robert Zemeckis, 1979) Used Cars (with Robert Zemeckis, 1980) Back to the Future (with Robert Zemeckis, 1985) Back to the Future Part II (with Robert Zemeckis, 1989) Back to the Future Part III (with Robert Zemeckis, 1990) Trespass (with Robert Zemeckis, 1992) Back to the Future: The Animated Series (1991–1992) (TV) Tales from the Crypt (episode "House of Horror", also director, 1993) (TV) Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie (also director, 1995) Bordello of Blood (with Robert Zemeckis, story only, 1996) Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road (also director, 2002)