42 Facts About Joe Pasternak

Joe Pasternak produced Judy Garland's final MGM film, Summer Stock, which was released in 1950, and some of Gene Kelly's early breakthrough roles.

Joe Pasternak worked in the film industry for 45 years, from the later silent era until shortly past the end of the classical Hollywood cinema in the early 1960s.

Joe Pasternak was born to a Jewish family in Szilagysomlyo, Austria-Hungary.

Joe Pasternak's father was a town clerk and Pasternak was one of 11 children.

Joe Pasternak worked in a factory, punching holes in leather belts, and did a variety of other jobs.

In 1922, Joe Pasternak gained a job as a busboy at Paramount's Astoria studio in Queens, New York City at $8 a week; after a year, he was head waiter and making $120 per week, including tips.

Joe Pasternak quit in 1923 to become an assistant for director Allan Dwan and worked his way up from fourth assistant at $16 per week to first assistant at $75 per week.

Joe Pasternak worked as an assistant director on The Phantom of the Opera and It's the Old Army Game.

Joe Pasternak produced a series of movies directed by, and often starring, William Dieterle: The Brandenburg Arch in 1929 with Paul Henckels and June Marlowe; Triumph of Love and Silence in the Forest in 1929; Rustle of Spring and Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, a drama, both in 1930, and One Hour of Happiness in 1931.

Joe Pasternak produced three films directed by Edmund Heuberger and starring Eddie Polo: Secret Police, Witnesses Wanted, and Of Life and Death.

Joe Pasternak shot Secret Agent and Johnny Steals Europe both with Harry Piel, then A Tremendously Rich Man with director Steve Sekely, Die unsichtbare Front and Pardon, tevedtem.

When Hitler came to power in Germany, Joe Pasternak moved to Hungary.

Universal recalled Joe Pasternak, giving him a $500 a week contract.

Joe Pasternak brought back Henry Koster with him and the two men set about making the sort of movie they had in Europe.

Joe Pasternak followed it with two more Durbin films, One Hundred Men and a Girl, directed by Koster, and Mad About Music, directed by Norman Taurog.

In 1938, Joe Pasternak did a comedy, Youth Takes a Fling, then was back with Durbin for That Certain Age, and Three Smart Girls Grow Up.

Joe Pasternak soon discovered soprano Gloria Jean, who began her own series in 1939, starting with The Under-Pup.

Joe Pasternak had a large hit with the comedy Western Destry Rides Again, starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart, which helped revitalise Dietrich's career.

In June 1941, Joe Pasternak announced he had joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a producer for a reported $3,500 per week.

Joe Pasternak was responsible for Esther Williams' first vehicle Thrill of a Romance ; it made over $3 million in profits.

Joe Pasternak made several non-musical romantic comedy hits, including Her Highness and the Bellboy with Hedy Lamarr and Robert Walker, and No Leave, No Love with Johnson.

However, around this time Joe Pasternak mostly specialized in musicals: Two Sisters from Boston with Grayson and Allyson was a box-office success, as was, Holiday in Mexico with Walter Pidgeon and Jane Powell in her debut for MGM.

Joe Pasternak tried his first drama in the US with Big City, starring O'Brien, which was a big money loser.

Joe Pasternak unfortunately had a big flop with the Sinatra-Grayson musical The Kissing Bandit that same year, which lost MGM over $2 million.

Joe Pasternak bounced back with In the Good Old Summertime with Garland and Johnson, and introduced Mario Lanza in That Midnight Kiss with Kathryn Grayson, which was a solid hit.

Joe Pasternak produced the final Judy Garland film at MGM, Summer Stock in 1950, co-starring Gene Kelly, and then had the biggest hit of his career to date with The Great Caruso, a vehicle for Mario Lanza which made almost $4 million in profit for the studio.

Joe Pasternak again tried a drama, this time with Turner, Flame and the Flesh, but it was not a notable success.

Joe Pasternak did Hit the Deck with Powell, Vic Damone and Debbie Reynolds, which was popular but failed to recoup its cost.

Conversely, a tough biopic Joe Pasternak produced about Ruth Etting, Love Me or Leave Me, starring Doris Day and James Cagney, was a hit.

In 1956, Joe Pasternak published his memoir Easy the Hard Way.

Joe Pasternak set up the independent production company Euterpe with Sam Katz.

Joe Pasternak was an immediate success, turning out four hits in a row: a highly regarded thriller, Party Girl, with Robert Taylor and Cyd Charisse; two comedies with David Niven: Ask Any Girl with Shirley MacLaine and Please Don't Eat the Daisies with Day; and a teen comedy, Where the Boys Are, which introduced a group of new stars: George Hamilton, Dolores Hart, Yvette Mimieux, Connie Francis, Jim Hutton, and Paula Prentiss.

Joe Pasternak reunited Hutton and Prentiss in The Horizontal Lieutenant, but it was not as popular as Boys.

However, Joe Pasternak responded with a comedy starring Glenn Ford, The Courtship of Eddie's Father that was a hit; the film featured Ronny Howard, showing the producer still retained an ability to discover young performers.

Joe Pasternak did a poorly-received musical with Ann-Margret, Made in Paris, then made two Elvis Presley films co-starring Shelley Fabares, Girl Happy and Spinout, both of which made money.

Joe Pasternak did a Natalie Wood comedy Penelope, which was a box-office disappointment.

In 1967, Joe Pasternak left MGM and became affiliated with 20th Century Fox, but made only one film for Fox, The Sweet Ride.

Joe Pasternak had a stroke before filming, and Sweet Ride would turn out to be his last film.

Joe Pasternak recovered slightly two years later but made no more films.

Joe Pasternak wrote a cookbook titled Cooking with Love and Paprika, published by Bernard Geis Associates in 1966.

Joe Pasternak died in Beverly Hills, California from complications arising from Parkinson's disease six days before his 90th birthday.

Joe Pasternak is interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.