Par post czar Paul Haggar dies

Paul Haggar, who led theatrical post-production at Paramount from the 1970s until his 2005 retirement, died Dec. 7 of natural causes in Los Angeles. He was 83. During a career at Paramount that lasted 54 years, Haggar became one of the most well-known figures in the Hollywood post community, overseeing post on hundreds of films, including "Love Story," "Chinatown," "The Godfather," "Reds" and "Heaven Can Wait." A structure on the Par lot was refitted for editing work and named the Haggar Building in 1987. Haggar received the Hollywood Post Alliance's lifetime achievement award in 2009. At the time, HPA president Leon Silverman said, "For decades, the name Paul Haggar was synonymous with post-production. It is no exaggeration to say that Paul kept us all on our toes. He demanded the best and got it from his post-production team and his vendors. He was a master at balancing the creative and the business, as he was always a tenacious advocate of both the filmmaker's vision and the studio's needs." Haggar was born in Brooklyn, but his family moved to Los Angeles when he was young. He began his career in the Paramount mailroom and rose to apprentice editor and eventually to exec VP of post-production, a job in which he remained for more than 20 years. Haggar was notable for his charity fund-rasing work for organizations including the Vision Awards, which he chaired, American Heart Assn. charity Hollywood Has Heart. Survivors include four daughters and two sons. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com