Justin Halpern
Justin Samuel Halpern (born September 3, 1980)[1] 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. His second book, I Suck at Girls, was published in 2012.
Life and career [edit]
Halpern grew up in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego, California. His father is Jewish and his Italian American mother is Catholic.[2][3] His father, Samuel Halpern, M.D., is a radiologist, now retired, who practiced at the University of California San Diego.[4] 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."[4]
Justin Halpern attended Point Loma High School, where he was a pitcher on the school's CIF-champion baseball team.[5] He also played baseball briefly at San Diego State University and graduated in 2003.[4] He then headed for Hollywood looking for work as a writer. He wrote screenplays and waited tables, but success as a screenwriter eluded him.[6] 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.[4]
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.[7] When he started living with his parents, his record of his father’s remarks became a daily journal.[8] On August 3, 2009, he started a Twitter feed, @shitmydadsays, just to have a place to store his father’s rhetorical gems.[8] He thought he might use some of them someday in a script.[6] 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."[9]
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.[7] 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.[4] As of November 2010 his Twitter feed had more than 1.8 million followers.[7] By September of the following year he had over 2.6 million following his Twitter account, all eager to hear the profane, hysterical and thought-provoking words of his father.[10]
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,[4] remaining #1 for eleven weeks. It remained on the best seller list for 50 weeks. It sold 1.2 million copies.[5]
The television show was called $#*! My Dad Says (pronounced "Bleep My Dad Says")[11][12] 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.[4] 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.[11] The TV series was cancelled in May 2011 by CBS. His father's reaction was typically unprintable.[13]
He took up writing for Grantland.com. In 2011, he worked as a writer for the short-lived comedy series, How to Be a Gentleman, which was cancelled after four episodes.[14]
Justin made his theatrical debut in 2012, performing alongside Mary Birdsong (Reno 911!), and Jen Kober (American Reunion), among others, in LA's monthly comedy showcase Don't Tell My Mother! (Live Storytelling).[15]
His second book, I Suck At Girls, was published May 15, 2012.[16] The television rights have already been sold.[14]
Halpern and his wife divide their time between San Diego and Los Angeles.[14]
References [edit]
- ^ "Justin Halpern, San Diego State University, Baseball Team 2000".
- ^ Bloom, Nate (September 14, 2010). "Interfaith Celebrities: Jennifer Grey Dances Again, Stuff His Dad Says". Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ Corner, Lena (2010-07-13). "Cult Twitter feed spawns book, possible TV series". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g Rowe, Peter (June 20, 2010). "Father’s Day odd couple". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ a b Hopkins, Scott (May 17, 2012). "Alum set to return home to turn another page". The Peninsula Beacon. p. 14.
- ^ a b National Post, November 26, 2009
- ^ a b c Webley, Kayla (May 21, 2010). "Q&A Justin Halpern, Author of Sh*t My Dad Says". Time Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ a b Paste Magazine, November 12, 2009
- ^ Twitter, @shitmydadsays
- ^ Twitter, @shitmydadsays
- ^ a b STELTER, BRIAN (May 18, 2010). "First Came the Tweets, and Then the Sitcom". New York Times. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ CBS page $#*! My Dad Says
- ^ "'Shit My Dad Says' Canceled: Justin Halpern's Father Reacts", Huffington Post, May 17, 2011
- ^ a b c Rowe, Peter (May 17, 2012). "Related:Books News» Justin Halpern is failing all the way to the top; By losing at romance, author wins readers -- and, at last, love". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ^ http://www.yandp.tv/2012/04/dont-tell-my-mother/
- ^ Halpern, Justin (May 15, 2012). I Suck at Girls. New York: It Books (Harper Collins). ISBN 978-0062113375.
External links [edit]
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