Martin Starger, producer of “Sophie’s Choice,” “The Mask” and “Nashville,” dies at the age of 92 – WFTV

“He was a brilliant, elegant, remarkable man and had wonderful taste in projects,” she said. “On a very personal level, he was like a father to me, as his older brother, my father, died very suddenly when I was a teenager.”

Starger was born on May 8, 1932, in the Bronx borough of New York, Variety reported. He graduated from the City College of New York, where he received a degree in motion picture technology.

After his military service, Starger became vice president of programming at ABC in 1972 and was the first president of ABC Entertainment, the entertainment news website reported.

During his tenure, ABC developed series such as “Happy Days,” miniseries such as “Roots” and “Rich Man, Poor Man,” and the “Movie of the Week” franchise, according to Deadline.

Starger was the executive producer of the 1975 film Nashville, Variety reported. He also served as an executive producer on television movies including Friendly Fire, Escape from Sobibor, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Merchant of Venice and The Elephant Man.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Starger was an executive producer of the films Movie Movie (1978), The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), On Golden Pond (1981), and The Last Unicorn (1982).

Starger has also worked as a producer on Broadway, working on “Sly Fox,” “Lend Me a Tenor,” “Starlight Express” and the original production of “Merrily We Roll Along,” Deadline reported.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he was nominated for a Tony Award in 1987 for “Starlight Express” and in 1989 for “Lend Me a Tenor.”