Craig Zadan, the prolific producer known for his touch with stage, TV and film musicals including NBC’s recent return to live event productions and three Academy Awards telecasts, has died. He was 69. Zadan had a long producing partnership with Neil Meron in Storyline Entertainment, which was recently renamed Zadan/Meron Productions. The pair’s most recent effort for NBC, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” which aired on Easter Sunday, is up for 13 Emmy Awards. Zadan and Meron executive produced the Academy Awards telecast for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC from 2013 to 2015. The pair were behind the 2007 film adaptation of the musical “Hairspray,” a title they also brought to NBC for a live production in 2016. Zadan and Meron were most recently at work on assembling a live production of “Hair” for NBC in 2019. Zadan and Meron productions have earned six Oscars, 17 Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, two Peabody honors, and a Grammy. Zadan was a producer on the hit 1984 movie “Footloose,” and he and Meron delivered a remake of the property as a Lifetime movie in 2011. Born in Miami, Zadan attended Hofstra University before launching his entertainment career in New York in the 1970s. Zadan is survived by his partner, Elwood Hopkins.
| Types | Person, Business Person |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of death | Aug 20 '18 |