Marty Pasetta was a director and producer best known for helming the Academy Awards telecast annually from 1972 to 1988, setting a record in the process for 17 broadcasts of the event. He also produced and directed telecasts for the Grammy and Emmy Awards.
From ’74 to ’88 he earned nine Emmy nominations, mostly for his work on the Oscar telecasts, but also including a nomination for one Grammy program, the concert special Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra and Burnett Discovers Domingo, a musical special featuring Carol Burnett and Plácido Domingo.
In 1973 he directed the television documentary Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii, a concert special which was credited with being the first program ever to be beamed around the world by satellite, airing in more than 40 countries. Featuring the famed performer at the Honolulu International Center, it became one of the most watched programs in television history.
Pasetta’s other notable credits include the 1981 television documentary AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Fred Astaire, including highlights from Astaire’s films and commentary by friends such as Audrey Hepburn and the program’s host David Niven. Pasetta also directed AFI tributes to Alfred Hitchcock, Henry Fonda and Frank Capra, as well as America's All-Star Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, The Beach Boys: 25 Years Together, The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour, The Everly Brothers Show, Bing Crosby and His Friends and TV inaugural galas for presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
Marty Pasetta was a director and producer best known for helming the Academy Awards telecast annually from 1972 to 1988, setting a record in the process for 17 broadcasts of the event. He also produced and directed telecasts for the Grammy and Emmy Awards.
From ’74 to ’88 he earned nine Emmy nominations, mostly for his work on the Oscar telecasts, but also including a nomination for one Grammy program, the concert special Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra and Burnett Discovers Domingo, a musical special featuring Carol Burnett and Plácido Domingo.
In 1973 he directed the television documentary Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii, a concert special which was credited with being the first program ever to be beamed around the world by satellite, airing in more than 40 countries. Featuring the famed performer at the Honolulu International Center, it became one of the most watched programs in television history.
Pasetta’s other notable credits include the 1981 television documentary AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Fred Astaire, including highlights from Astaire’s films and commentary by friends such as Audrey Hepburn and the program’s host David Niven. Pasetta also directed AFI tributes to Alfred Hitchcock, Henry Fonda and Frank Capra, as well as America's All-Star Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, The Beach Boys: 25 Years Together, The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour, The Everly Brothers Show, Bing Crosby and His Friends and TV inaugural galas for presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
Pasetta died May 21, 2015, in La Quinta, California. He was 82.