Hungarian immigrant who came to America in his teens and worked his way up through the ranks to become an assistant director at Paramount in 1923. After producing several successful films in Europe, Pasternak revived the flagging fortunes of Universal with a series of hit musicals starring Deanna Durbin in the mid-1930s. He is also credited with discovering Judy Garland, who later starred in his musicals "Presenting Lily Mars" (1943), "In the Good Old Summertime" (1949) and "Summer Stock" (1950). Pasternak also cast Mario Lanza in "The Toast of New Orleans" (1950) and "The Great Caruso" (1951), and rejuvenated the career of Marlene Dietrich with "Destry Rides Again" (1939).
In 1945 Pasternak fought MGM for permission to film the now classic live-action/animated sequence in "Anchors Aweigh", in which Gene Kelly dances with the cartoon mouse, Jerry (at a cost of $150,000).
Over a 40-year career, Pasternak was responsible for 105 films, mostly family-oriented, frothy fare which earned a total of some $400 million. He headed one of MGM's three musical "units" in the 1940s and, in 1960, produced the influential adolescent-romance-on-the-beach film, "Where the Boys Are".
- Also Credited As:
Joseph Pasternak
- Born:
September 19, 1901 in Szilagy-Somlyo, Hungary
- Died:
September 13, 1991.
-
Job Titles:
Producer, Associate producer, Fourth assistant director, Second assistant director, Busboy, Factory worker, Waiter
Family
-
Sister: Lanca Kardos.
-
Son: Jeffrey Pasternak.
Milestones
-
1921 Emigrated to USA; first worked in a factory, punching holes in leather belts
-
1923 Became a second assistant director at Paramount
-
1926 Joined Universal in Hollywood; wrote and directed first two-reel comedy with El Brendel, "Help Yourself" which helped him advance to asssistant director
-
1928 Appointed manager of Universal's operations in Berlin and as an associate producer (under European production supervisor Paul Kohner) earned $1,500 per week
-
1929 First film, "Das Schweigen im Walde" (made in Germany)
-
1933 Fled Germany (later family members died in concentration camps)
-
1936 Called back to the USA in the mid-1930s when Universal faced bankruptcy
-
1937 Helped save the studio with his first US production, the Deana Durbin hit musical, "Three Smart Girls"
-
1941 Moved to MGM where he stayed for the remainer of his career
-
1964 Produced three Oscar telecasts
-
1968 Produced last film, "The Sweet Ride"
-
Began studio career as a busboy at Paramount's Astoria studio in Queens, NY; worked his way up to waiter, actor and fourth assistant director
-
Career ended by Parkinson's disease in the late 1960s
-
Made films in Vienna and Budapest