American screenwriter and sometime playwright
After serving as an ambulance driver with the Free French early in the second world war, he later served in the American army and was awarded a Bronze Star.
One half, with Marcia Nasatir , of Reel Geezers, who provide pithy critiques of recent films primarily on Youtube and have gained an international cult following. They are old friends, and were first introduced in the 1960s by late New Yorker critic Pauline Kael.
Was hired by producer William Dozier to create the "Batman" superhero show for 20th Century Fox Television and ABC. Semple wrote only the first four episodes, but served as a script or story consultant on every other installment.
In World War II, he earned a Croix de Guerre after surviving a battle in the Libyan desert driving an ambulance for the Free French forces, returned to the U.S., was drafted into the Army and given a Bronze Star.
Began in 1951 as a short story writer for The Saturday Evening Post and Colliers Weekly. After the war, Semple took drama writing classes at Columbia hoping to become a playwright.
During Batmans first season, he worked from Spain via mail and never met any of the actors.
He taught screenwriting at New York Universitys NYU Tisch School of the Arts from 1984-90.
His daughter is the screenwriter and producer Maria Semple.
He wrote the "bible" for "Batmans" other writers. (For example, Batman should never be shown breaking the law, not even to park in a no-parking zone during a crime-fighting emergency.) Semple came up with the idea for interspersing the shows fight scenes with colorful Pow! Zap! and Kapow! graphics. He named every device the "Bat"-this or the "Bat"-that. Robins trademark "Holy (Fill in the Blank)!" was inspired by a similar phrase used by a character in the Tom Swift books.
I think Batman [TV series] was the best thing I ever wrote, including,those big movies. As a whole work, it came out the way that I wanted it,to, and I was excited by it. .
