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Joe Pasternak

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Joseph Pasternak (September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-born American film director in Hollywood. Born to a Jewish family in Szilágysomlyó, Austria-Hungary (now Şimleu Silvaniei, Sălaj County, Romania), Pasternak was a successful film producer in Germany and Austria by the time he was twenty-eight years old. Following the establishment of the Nazi regime, the Pasternak emigrated to the United States in 1934, bringing with him a wealth of experience while still a very young man. Hired by Universal Pictures, in 1936 he produced his first picture in the USA with the then fourteen-year-old Canadian singer Deanna Durbin making her debut in film. Pasternak proved to be a real asset for the studio, generating a number of highly successful films during the tough times of the Great Depression. He later moved to MGM, where he continued to produce operetta films, many starring either Mario Lanza or Kathryn Grayson, or, on two occasions, both of them. His biggest MGM success came with The Great Caruso. His career as a film producer spanned forty 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. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Joe Pasternak has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1541 N. Vine Street. He was also an enthusiastic amateur chef, and he wrote a book Cooking with Love and Paprika (published 1966). Pasternak is the father of Michael Joseph Pasternak, the 1960's Radio Disk jockey known as Emperor Rosko. His other son, Jeff Pasternak is a playwright and songwriter and youngest son is Peter Pasternak, a music industry professional. Joe Pasternak died from complications arising from Parkinson's disease only a few days shy of his 90th birthday. He is interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. He is unrelated to the Russian author Boris Pasternak.