Martin Starger, ‘Nashville’ and ‘Mask’ Producer, Dies at 92

Martin Starger, who shepherded Roots , 19459003 Pleased Days and Rich Man, Poor Man 19459004 as the very first president of ABC Entertainment before producing such movies as Robert Altman ‘s 19459003 Nashville and 19459007 Peter Bogdanovich ‘s 19459003 Mask , has actually passed away. He was 92. Starger passed away Friday at his home in Los Angeles, his niece, New York-based casting director Ilene Starger, revealed. “He was a fantastic, classy, impressive guy and had fantastic taste in jobs,” she kept in mind. As an executive manufacturer, Starger dealt with movies consisting of Stanley Donen 19459006’s 19459003 Film Movie 19459004 (1978 ), Ingmar Bergman’s 19459003 Fall Sonata , The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Great Muppet Caper 19459004 (1981 ), Mark Rydell’s 19459003 On Golden Pond (1981 ), 19459003 The Last Unicorn 19459004 (1982) and Alan J. Pakula’s Sophie’s Choice (1982) 19659004 He got Tony elections in 1987 and 1989 for producing the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Starlight Express 19459004 and the funny Provide Me a Tenor 19459004, respectively, Starger was born upon May 8, 1932, in the Bronx, New York. After finishing from City College, he was prepared into the U.S. Army in 1953 and appointed to the Signal Corps movie department. In Honolulu, he composed, directed, photographed and modified documentaries and functions for tv, for the U.S. Department of Defense and for newsreels. 19659006 After the Army, Starger signed up with the ad agency BBDO in New York, then leapt to ABC as vice president of programs in 1969. 3 years later on, he was promoted to president of ABC Entertainment, a brand-new position. Under his stewardship, the third-place network discovered success with its 19459003 Motion picture of the Week franchise, its well-known miniseries Roots and 19459003 Rich Man, Poor Man , and such hit series as 19459003 Marcus Welby, M.D. 19459004 and 19459003 Pleased Days 19459004 Barry Diller and Michael Eisner were amongst the up-and-coming imaginative executives who worked for him. 19659008 While still at ABC, he promoted Nashville (1975 ), which he executive produced with Jerry Weintraub, who had actually brought the task to him. Starger went on to partner with British legend Lew Grade at Marble Arch Productions– they produced the Cher-starring Mask 19459004 (1985)– and introduced his own business, Marstar Productions. There, he produced or executive produced the telefilms 19459003 Friendly Fire , 19459003 All Quiet on the Western Front , The Merchant of Venice , 19459003 The Elephant Man and 19459003 Escape From Sobibor He entered into Broadway by producing, with Grade, the 1976-78 funny Sly Fox , composed by Larry Gelbart, and Stephen Sondheim 19459006’s Happily We Roll Along , which premiered in 1981. 19659011 Starger divided his time in between New York and L.A., his niece stated. 19659012 Learn more