24 Facts About Joe Pasternak

Joseph Herman Joe Pasternak was born on Jozsef Paszternak; September 19,1901 – September 13,1991 and was a Hungarian-American film producer in Hollywood.

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'sfather was a town clerk and Pasternak was one of eleven children.

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 a week, including tips.

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.

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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 .

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 another talented soprano, Gloria Jean, who began her own series in 1939, starting with The Under-Pup .

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

Joe Pasternak was responsible for Esther Williams' first proper vehicle, Thrill of a Romance, co-starring Van Johnson; 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 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.

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.

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 authored a lovely and knowledgeable cookbook entitled 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.