Latest in Craig Zadan

EXCLUSIVE: “We had no idea, of course, that we would soon be on the brink of an historic moment in race relations in this country. So this racial equity fund is now suddenly more enormous in its significance than we imagined. But then again, Craig always did seem to have his finger on the pulse of what was coming…

“Craig would have loved it” was a common refrain heard in the lobby of the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre on Sunday night at the conclusion of Thespians Go Hollywood, a tribute to the life and work of the late prolific film, TV and Broadway producer Craig Zadan. Not only would he have loved it, he could have produce…

Kristin Chenoweth, Harry Connick Jr., Sean Hayes and Debra Messing are among the artists announced today as participants in the upcoming benefit honoring the late producer Craig Zadan. Also included in the line-up: Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, Jennifer Hudson, Audra McDonald, and Renee Zellweger. Called “Thespians…

NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was a big winner on night two of the Creative Arts Emmys and as each win was announced, there was an outpour of love and praise for the late great Craig Zadan, who served as executive producer. The live musical telecast based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway smash is…

Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert took home the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special Live, inducting not one, not two but three more people into the EGOT family: Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and John Legend. Rice, Webber, and Legend (who also starred in the live production) took the stage to claim their spot in…

There is probably no actor closer associated with producers Craigs Zadan, who died suddenly last week at age 69, and Neil Meron than Kristin Chenoweth who has been the duo’s muse for two decades. She starred in one of Zadan and Meron’s early TV musicals, the 1999 Annie, which aired under ABC’s The Wonderful World of Di…

A memorial celebration of the life of producer Craig Zadan will be held November 11 and organized by the Educational Theatre Foundation, an group dedicated to supporting theater arts in schools. The event, to be held at the Television Academy’s headquarters in North Hollywood, was originally set up to be the ETF’s…

Country star Carrie Underwood took to Twitter Wednesday to respond to the death of Craig Zadan, executive producer of The Sound of Music Live! which she starred in. “Such sad news,” Underwood tweeted. “Craig was a visionary, a risk-taker, a lover of music and just an all around nice guy! I am honored to have worked…

Some things just hit you in the gut and have no easy explanation. The death Tuesday of Craig Zadan is one of them. I am still trying to process it. I have done so many interviews over the years (along with his longtime producing partner, Neil Meron) of this prolific producer and true showbiz devotee, including one I…

Refresh for updates Bette Midler, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Hugh Jackman and Barbra Streisand have added their remembrances to the continuing roster of condolences for Craig Zadan, the producer who ushered in a new era of musicals for a television audience. Zadan, whose credits include televised stagings of the…

Refresh for updates Hollywood figures and celebrities took to Twitter to honor prolific producer Craig Zadan, who died Tuesday after complications following shoulder replacement surgery. Zadan is known for championing musical theater and produced Oscar telecasts as well as the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of…

Craig Zadan’s first credit as a producer was on Footloose, the seminal 1984 teen dance movie that made a star of Kevin Bacon. It also stamped the kind of films and TV shows he wanted to make: dance- and music-filled productions with nods to theater. Those credits would grow to the likes of 1993’s Gypsy starring Bette…