Craig Zadan has passed away

[curel1]

Complications from shoulder replacement surgery...

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/craig-zadan-dead-oscars-producer-was-69-1136579

 

[adam.peterson44]

This is such sad news.  I was so grateful to him and Neil Meron for all that they have contributed to making musicals more accessible to folks who have difficulty traveling to Broadway, either because of mobility or financial limitations.  They always produced such wonderful productions with people chosen who can sing as well as act (a bit of a rarity in hollywood and tv, it seems).  He will be very deeply missed.

[everythingtaboo]

Oh my goodness. I'm at a loss. Thanks to him and Neil Meron, we've had musicals at the forefront of TV and film for almost two decades. And what a what a go, complications from shoulder surgery. Just a sample of notation productions, pulled from IMDb quickly:

NBC’s The Sound of Music, The Wiz, Peter Pan, Hairspray, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Hair and Bye Bye Birdie still to come...TV's Smash, the Academy Awards, Cinderella, Gypsy, The Music Man, A Raisin in the Sun, and more. And films like Chicago, Hairspray, Footloose.

Wow. What a legacy.

[BwayLB]

My favorites of his work with Mr Meron was Hairspray Live for NBC and the film remake of Footloose. I also have watched Cinderella with Brandy, Annie (with Kathy Bates, Audra McDonald Victor Garber and Kristin Chenoweth) Life with Judy Garland The Music Man (Matthew Broderick) Chicago, Lucy, Three Stooges, Hairspray film and all the NBC lives musicals except Jesus Christ Superstar.

[ND_2000]

I am truly in utter shock. What a tragic loss to the industry. His projects will live forever. SO grateful for all the work he did. What a remarkable man. RIP.

[BroadwayConcierge]

I’m shocked—audible gasp at the news. Major loss. So grateful for all he gave to us.

[Call_me_jorge]

Looks like this thread is getting more traction... so I’ll just copy and paste what I said in the other one, here.

“Wonder how this might affect the development of the upcoming live telecasts of hair, a few good men, and Bye Bye Birdie.

So shocking. If you think about it, without him and Neil Theatre may have never gotten back to mainstream culture. Hopefully there’s someone else who can fill the hole he has left.”

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Craig Zadan started out his career producing cabaret acts with Neil Meron before heading to The Public Theatre to work for Joseph Papp. In the early 1980’s, film producer Peter Guber met with the pair about getting himself into the theatre industry. He would return the favor by teaching them about movies and television. Zadan and Meron then went out to California to get started in the industry. Their first three films as producers were Footloose, Sing, and If Looks Could Kill. They’ve also spent time going to every single studio in Hollywood about doing a movie musical. But whenever they made that pitch, they’d get thrown out by the executives saying “Musicals are dead, a thing of the past, no one wants to see them!” They later received a call one day from an agent who represented Arthur Laurents about doing a TV movie version of Gypsy. They took the project to CBS, and moved forward with Bette Midler in the starring role of Mama Rose. When the film premiered on December 12th, 1993, it ended up being a huge ratings success, even receiving 12 Emmy nominations (including Outstanding Television Movie).

Zadan and Meron then went on to make three more TV film musicals for The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC which were Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Annie, & The Music Man. The pair then ventured into feature films with Chicago, Hairspray, The Bucket List, and the 2011 remake of Footloose. On Broadway, they both produced Tony-winning revivals of Promises, Promises, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In recent years, they’ve produced the Oscars three years in a row, and have been in charge with every single live musical production at NBC since 2013.

Two of Craig Zadan’s final projects (Flint and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert) are both Emmy nominees this year.

[bwayrose7]

So very sad to hear this. He produced some of the works that have meant so much to me (and to many, many others). So grateful we got to benefit from his talent and passion for so long - thinking of his loved ones today.

[Sondheimite]

Craig Zadan brought theatre to millions of people free to them via network television. The NBC Live Broadcasts are spotty, quality wise, at best. But he was passionate about producing theatre for the masses. Theatre has become only for the people who can afford luxury.  Community theaters are $30+ dollars a ticket and they have to be just to keep their doors open. Zadan, through the NBC live broadcasts and the ABC movie musical films, brought millions of people who had access to network television a theatrical experience. He will never be able to see all the fruit of his laboring because it has grown into something bigger than anyone can see/grasp. He, and his passion for creating accessible theatre, will be greatly missed. Damn

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

I, like so many others, thank him for helping to bring theater to the masses via TV. The work he and Neil Meron have done with making musical theater accessible over the past 25 years have opened so many doors. This is very unexpected and a great loss to so many people. May his memory and passion be carried on.

[morosco]

One of my favorite reads from years ago is Zadan's SONDHEIM & CO, a book I still like to read every now and then.  Thank you Craig Zadan for that book and so much more over the years.

[smallvillefan16]

SO sad.  We owe him SO much for bringing musical theater back into people's television homes and without them, there never would have been a musical resurgence.  Very, very sad.

[EllieRose2]

The entire theater community owes him so much.  Everyone who has worked with and for him, the fans of all his brilliant work.  He will be deeply missed, what a tragic loss.  

[Famebroadway2]

Such terrible news....

[gypsy101]

wow absolutely stunned by this news. Meron and Zadan are almost singlehandedly responsible for musicals enjoying a revival the last few decades. what a loss to the film industry.

[SmoothLover]

Such an unfair way to go...….because of a surgery.....

[CapnHook]

Craig's contributions to the entertainment industry has renewed a mainstream interest in the American musical theatre genre. Without the work of he and his producing partner Neil Meron, the nation would not have had the exposure to the modern musical that it does today. From CHICAGO to HAIRSPRAY to the live TV musicals, SMASH, the Oscars, and more...his legacy has had an incredible impact. It's tragic that he will not be able to continue his projects that are still in the works, but knowing Neil, they will not end due to his passing, and instead will continue to honor his memory.

Condolences to all of his family and friends.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Lights are dimming tonight in Zadan's honor.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Broadway-Lights-Will-Dim-Tonight-in-Memory-of-Craig-Zadan-20180925

[sabrelady]

WHAT no campaign to persuade the League  to do this ? I'm shocked to my marrow that  a big time Hollywood MOVIE musical producer would receive the recognition he deserves from the Broadway community! SHOCKED I tells ya!

[JSquared2]

sabrelady said: "WHAT no campaign to persuade the League to do this ? I'm shocked to my marrow that a big time Hollywood MOVIE musical producer would receive the recognition he deserves from the Broadway community! SHOCKED I tells ya!"

 

It was inevitable that some ***hole was going to b*itch and moan about this.  If you don't think that Zadan and Meron have made a huge contribution to Broadway, then there's no reasoning with you.