Joseph Jechiel Serga Herman Pasternak

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Pasternak

Joseph Herman "Joe" Pasternak (September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was an Hungarian-born American film producer in Hollywood.

Contents [show] Early life[edit] Born to a Jewish family in Szilágysomlyó, Austria-Hungary (now Șimleu Silvaniei, Sălaj County, Romania), Pasternak was a successful film producer in Germany and Austria by the time he was 28 years old. He worked for Universal Pictures in Europe, where he made German-language musicals for the international market. He hit upon a successful formula, building light musical comedies around an adolescent soprano (Franciska Gaal).

Following the establishment of the Nazi regime, Pasternak emigrated to the United States.

In the United States[edit]

Pasternak (right) receiving his star on Hollywood Boulevard from Johnny Grant with Gene Kelly on the left on July 29, 1991. At Universal's Hollywood studio in 1936. Pasternak cast 14-year-old Canadian singer Deanna Durbin in Three Smart Girls (1936). The film became a huge hit and reputedly saved Universal from bankruptcy. Pasternak produced a string of Durbin musicals, and soon discovered another talented soprano, Gloria Jean, who began her own series in 1939. Pasternak proved to be a real asset for the studio, generating a number of popular films, including Destry Rides Again (1939) and Seven Sinners (1940).

In 1941 he moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he sat on the executive committee[1] and was regarded as one of the three most important persons in the company, alongside Louis B. Mayer and Vice President Sam Katz.[2] At MGM he continued to produce operetta films, featuring the rich singing voices of Kathryn Grayson and Jane Powell, although his biggest MGM success came with The Great Caruso (1951), a vehicle for Mario Lanza.

In the mid 1950s, Pasternak and Sam Katz set up the independent production company Euterpe,[3] which, until Pasternak's retirement in 1968, produced 16 films distributed by MGM; among them musicals with Elvis Presley, Doris Day and Connie Francis.[4][5][6]

His career as a film producer spanned 40 years and earned him two Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations. He retired in 1968, having produced more than ninety feature-length films as well as three Academy Award shows.

Pasternak is the father of Michael Joseph Pasternak, the radio disk jockey known as Emperor Rosko; Jeff Pasternak, a playwright and songwriter; and Peter Pasternak, a music industry professional.

Death and tribute[edit] Joe Pasternak died in Beverly Hills, California from complications arising from Parkinson's disease six days shy of his 90th birthday. He is interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Joe Pasternak has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1541 N. Vine Street.

Partial filmography[edit] Ludwig II, King of Bavaria (1929) Rustle of Spring (1929) The Daredevil Reporter (1929) Two People (1930) The Night Without Pause (1931) Five from the Jazz Band (1932) The Rebel (1932) A Tremendously Rich Man (1932) Scandal in Budapest (1933) Peter (1934) Spring Parade (1934) A Precocious Girl (1934) Little Mother (1935) Catherine the Last (1936) Three Smart Girls (1936) One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) Mad About Music (1938) Youth Takes a Fling (1938) That Certain Age (1938) Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1938) The Under-Pup (1939) First Love (1939) Destry Rides Again (1939) It's a Date (1940) Spring Parade (1940) A Little Bit of Heaven (1940) Seven Sinners (1940) Nice Girl? (1940) The Flame of New Orleans (1941) It Started with Eve (1941) Seven Sweethearts (1942) Presenting Lily Mars (1943) Thousands Cheer (1943) Song of Russia (1944) Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) Music for Millions (1944) Thrill of a Romance (1945) Anchors Aweigh (1945) Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945) Two Sisters from Boston (1946) Holiday in Mexico (1946) No Leave, No Love (1946) The Unfinished Dance (1947) This Time for Keeps (1947) Three Daring Daughters (1948) Big City (1948) On an Island with You (1948) A Date with Judy (1948) Luxury Liner (1948) The Kissing Bandit (1948) In the Good Old Summertime (1949) That Midnight Kiss (1949) Nancy Goes to Rio (1950) Duchess of Idaho (1950) The Toast of New Orleans (1950) Summer Stock (1950) The Great Caruso (1951) Rich, Young and Pretty (1951) The Strip (1951) Skirts Ahoy! (1952) The Merry Widow (1952) Because You're Mine (1952) Small Town Girl (1953) Latin Lovers (1953) Easy to Love (1953) Flame and the Flesh (1954) The Student Prince (1954) Athena (1954) Hit the Deck (1955) Love Me or Leave Me (1955) Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956) The Opposite Sex (1956) Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957) This Could Be the Night (1957) Party Girl (1958) Ask Any Girl (1959) Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) Where the Boys Are (1960) The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962) Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963) A Ticklish Affair (1963) Looking for Love (1964) Girl Happy (1965) Spinout (1966) Made in Paris (1966) Penelope (1966) The Sweet Ride (1968)