Martin Starger, who shepherded Roots, Chuffed Days and Rich Man, Unhappy Man as the most considerable president of ABC Entertainment ahead of producing such motion photos as Robert Altman’s Nashville and Peter Bogdanovich’s Masks, has died. He used to be 92.
Starger died Friday at his residence in Los Angeles, his niece, Novel York-essentially based mostly casting director Ilene Starger, launched. “He used to be a exciting, neat, excellent man and had very splendid taste in initiatives,” she infamous.
As an govt producer, Starger labored on motion photos alongside with Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie (1978), Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata, The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Massive Muppet Caper (1981), Label Rydell’s On Golden Pond (1981), The Final Unicorn (1982) and Alan J. Pakula’s Sophie’s Different (1982)
He obtained Tony nominations in 1987 and 1989 for producing the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Starlight Categorical and the comedy Lend Me a Tenor, respectively,
Starger used to be born on Might perhaps moreover 8, 1932, in the Bronx, Novel York. After graduating from City College, he used to be drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1953 and assigned to the Signal Corps motion image division. In Honolulu, he wrote, directed, photographed and edited documentaries and choices for television, for the U.S. Division of Defense and for newsreels.
After the Navy, Starger joined the advertising and marketing company BBDO in Novel York, then jumped to ABC as vp of programs in 1969. Three years later, he used to be promoted to president of ABC Entertainment, a brand original affirm.
Under his stewardship, the third-space network chanced on success with its Movie of the Week franchise, its acclaimed miniseries Roots and Rich Man, Unhappy Man, and such hit series as Marcus Welby, M.D. and Chuffed Days. Barry Diller and Michael Eisner had been amongst the up-and-coming ingenious executives who labored for him.
While unexcited at ABC, he championed Nashville (1975), which he govt produced with Jerry Weintraub, who had brought the mission to him.
Starger went on to partner with British yarn Lew Grade at Marble Arch Productions — they produced the Cher-starring Masks (1985) — and launched his have firm, Marstar Productions. There, he produced or govt produced the telefilms Friendly Fire, All Silent on the Western Entrance, The Carrier provider of Venice, The Elephant Man and Coast From Sobibor.
He got into Broadway by producing, with Grade, the 1976-78 comedy Sly Fox, written by Larry Gelbart, and Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Alongside, which premiered in 1981.
Starger divided his time between Novel York and L.A., his niece acknowledged.
