Neil Meron pays tribute to producing partner Craig Zadan: "He was like food for me in terms of being able to nourish my theater-nerd appetite"

Variety

Meron and Zadan produced three Oscars ceremonies, numerous TV musicals and helped revive the live TV musical trend on NBC in 2013 with The Sound of Music Live! In wake of Zadan's death Tuesday at age 69, Meron recalled their first meeting in the mid-1970s. “From the first day we met we just had a similar mentality,” Meron said. “He was like food for me in terms of being able to nourish my theater-nerd appetite, and he was like that from the first day.” He described Zadan as somebody who "could not be cruel. He was compassionate. He was ready to give advice whenever you needed it. He listened, which is a rarity.”

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• Craig Zadan changed the way we saw theater
• The Sound of Music Live! star Carrie Underwood calls Zadan "a visionary, a risk-taker, a lover of music"