Marty Callner, an esteemed music video and TV comedy specials director, has died.
Callner died at the age of 78 due to natural causes, his son Jazz has confirmed, per the Hollywood Reporter. Callner was a 12-time Emmy nominee who was best known for the numerous iconic music videos he directed, as well as creating the HBO series Hard Knocks.
Among the first music videos he directed were Twisted Sister‘s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’, Cher‘s ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ and Pat Benatar‘s ‘We Belong’. Other famous clips he’s helmed include several Aerosmith cuts such as ‘Sweet Emotion’, ‘Dude (Looks Like A Lady)’, ‘Cryin”, Whitesnake‘s ‘Here I Go Again’, Stevie Nicks‘ ‘Stand Back’, Britney Spears‘ ‘Anticipating’ and more.
Marty Callner also worked with the likes of Heart, Bon Jovi, Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, Scorpions, Kiss, ZZ Top and others. He also directed music specials and concert films for the likes of Whitney Houston, The Rolling Stones, Britney Spears and more.
He was also known for directing comedy specials for TV, including several episodes of HBO’s On Location, which featured the likes of Steve Martin, George Carlin, Chevy Chase and Norm Crosby, before moving on to film HBO’s Young Comedians, which spotlighted Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, Howie Mandel and more.
Following the success and praise those episodes received, Callner began receiving offers to direct full-blown TV specials for the likes of Seinfeld, Williams, Whoopi Goldber, Dane Cook and more.
Back in 2001, Callner created HBO’s long-running reality series Hard Knocks, which is credited as the “first sports-based reality series” and remains a cornerstone of of HBO’s offerings till this day.
