Marty Pasetta, a pioneering director at KGO-TV in San Francisco before heading south to Hollywood to direct 17 live Academy Awards? telecasts, has died at the age of 82.

      Pasetta died May 21 from injuries sustained in a single-car accident in La Quinta, in southern California, where he lived. 

Marty Pasetta,  1932-2015 Was a director at KGO-TV in 1960s before heading to Hollywood to become the prolific director of 17 Academy Awards telecasts.

  A veteran director at KGO-TV in the 1960s before heading to Hollywood in 1967, Pasetta was inducted, in 1991, into the Silver Circle of the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his many years of contributions to the television industry.

      Besides making a huge name for himself as the veteran director of live television extravaganzas like the Oscar? telecasts for prime-time network TV, Pasetta also directed the inaugural galas for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, in 1977 and 1981, respectively. 

      The Riverside County Coroner's Office says the driver of the car in which Pasetta was the passenger in had left the engine on after they got out of the vehicle. The car ended up striking Pasetta and another passenger. Pasetta died at the scene.

     The show he was best known for, however, was the Academy Awards. He directed every Oscars telecast from 1972 to 1988, and was responsible for introducing split screens, instant replays and musical numbers involving large numbers of background dancers, lasers and pyrotechnics.

With Elvis Presley, in 1973, directing the singer's television special, Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii, which became a blockbuster hit worldwide.

        That is when Brothers became a partner at Genovese Burford & Brothers, which specializes in wealth and retirement planning for some of Sacramento's most prominent families and businesses. 

        Brothers hasn't entirely left broadcasting. He still dabbles in it, as a regular on-air financial advisor for KCRA and KFBK Radio. 

Why did you pursue a TV news career? 

At KNOP in North Platte, Nebraska, mid-1980s

I got into broadcasting due to a lack of football talent and I could have never come close to playing at Notre Dame, but I really liked football and discovered I could really experience the Fighting Irish program by doing play-by-play for both home and away games -- which I did for two years while pursuing my undergraduate degree. I gave it up my senior year to let others have a shot, and also so I could wear blue jeans to the games instead of a suit and tie and I could also enjoy a few cocktails on game days with my friends. Meanwhile, I did TV internships in Sacramento and South Bend, and pulled together a resume tape. I sent my tape to 100 stations and received 101 rejection letters. It turns out one station lost track and sent me two letters. The great news was a local bar in South Bend had a special "job rejection" night, where they offered a free drink for every rejection letter you brought in, so needless to say, I was quite popular at the bar that night!  

I caught a break when I met a guy in my dorm named Mark Dylan, whose dad, Mort, was an executive at NBC. I sent my tape to Mort, he saw potential, and offered some tips to improve my tape and he explained that I was aiming too high for a first job as I had previously sent my tape to markets like Reno and Albuquerque. I sent out my second batch of tapes to five stations only, and immediately received offers from stations in Lake Charles, Louisiana; Ft. Smith, Arkansas; and North Platte, Nebraska - which had the smallest NBC affiliate in the country. The day after I graduated from Notre Dame, I shed a few tears, packed up my Buick and drove to North Platte, but it felt like I was going to the moon! I arrived Tuesday and anchored the news the very next day. I had a great year there as I did it all. I reported, anchored, did news, sports and weather. On Friday at the end of my first week, I grabbed a beer at The Platte Bar, and boy did I stick out from the regulars. I walked in wearing a blue suit and makeup on, and a really nice guy at the end of the bar offered to buy me a beer. What a welcome I received. As it turned out, that guy was Bob Kerrey, the governor of Nebraska and former Vietnam War hero.

What markets did you work in during your career?  

After a year in North Platte, I decided to go back to grad school at Notre Dame, but I kept my hand in TV, working at WNDU-TV. I also did radio, as the station was affiliated with the university.  I vividly recall the stock market crash in October 1987, and I struggled with what to lead with, as that same day, 18-month old Jessica McClure fell into her aunt's well in Midland, Texas. It was a super busy time in my life as I worked 20 to 30 hours while getting my MBA in 1987-88.  I then moved to London where I did a little work for the BBC covering the American presidential election -- again, more good fortune as I had interviewed Dan Quayle a year earlier and had that on my audition tape. It caught the attention of someone at the BBC. After graduating in December 1988, a friend of a friend of a friend back in Sacramento -- where I grew up -- introduced me to John Kelly, who owned KCRA as part of Kelly Broadcasting. I walked in his office and told him my name was on his letterhead, and that he had to hire me and the rest is history. Our relationship remains very strong today, as he is an investor in my financial services company, Genovese Burford & Brothers, and I manage part of John's portfolio.

What is your top small market horror story?  

When I first started in Nebraska, I was anchoring and referred to MC Hammer as "McHammer", but my worst gaffe on the air was when I referred to Congressman Schmidt, as Congressman Shit, and I actually said it twice!  I was terrified when the general manager called me into his office, as I was certain I was going to be fired. I can picture the scene like it was yesterday. Ulysses Carlini was his name. He walks in with his arms folded, and told me the station had already received 100 phone calls, and he let me sweat it out for a few long seconds, and then he told me that "99 of those viewers said you were right the first time!" I breathed a huge sigh of relief!

What are you most proud of during your remarkable TV career? 

I am most humbled by our award-winning coverage of life-threatening floods in Sacramento. It was December 31, 1997, and our son, Liam, had just been born. I was working New Year's Eve, and the floods started to build. We were on the air around the clock with 90 consecutive hours of live coverage. We would do an anchor rotation of 12 hours on and 12 hours off with very few breaks. It was incredibly frightening. We would receive letters from old ladies around town living along the levy which was not structurally sound, and they slept with the TV on as we were the ones keeping an eye on things and they relied on us for their very livelihood.

When I think back of my proudest moment in both radio and TV, I recall the mid 1980s, when I was also working for KFBK Radio, and we became the organizing force behind the Freedom Flights where we secured donations to fly World War II veterans back to see the memorial in Washington, D.C. It got started when I did an interview with Keith Soward, an illustrator and infantryman in World War II, who had created some amazing pieces featuring Gen. Douglas MacArthur and several key battles, and his work was going to be featured in the Smithsonian for a month. We asked if he was going back to Washington, but he couldn't afford it. Real estate developer and San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos heard the interview and offered to take Keith and his wife in Spanos' private jet to see the World War II memorial as well as his artwork. These freedom flights expanded as we solicited more donations, and Mr. Spanos cut a check for $130,000 to allow us to charter a 757 jetliner to fly hundreds more veterans to D.C. We ended up getting enough donations to send four planeloads of veterans and guests to see the memorial. They were treated like royalty on these trips, with limos transporting them, and they recounted wonderful World War II stories during the trip, bringing tears to their eyes. I will never forget that, and then I would see their obituaries after that and reflect on that amazing experience for them and for us. That was a kick.

What was your toughest assignment in TV? 

I had the privilege of witnessing history as I reported on several big stories over the years, including going to London to cover Princess Diana's funeral. The most emotional story I ever covered were the Yosemite murders in 1999 and witnessing the horrible experience of the Sund-Carrington family who lost their daughter and granddaughter. Once again, Mr. Spanos contacted me and asked if I would represent the media and go on his jet to fly the remains of Silvina Pelosso back home to South America, so she could have a proper burial at home. Mr. Spanos did not want Silvina to be offloaded off a commercial jet and treated like luggage. When we arrived in Argentina, there was a large crowd at the airport, and Silvina's dad and mom were overcome with grief. They were so incredibly gracious, not even an hour later had passed that they invited us into their home and cooked us a delicious dinner. It was their way of thanking us for bringing their daughter home. What struck me was that, despite these horrible criminal acts where the Pelossos and greater South America could have been left with a bad impression of America, this experience helped to change the perception of the world and how it thinks of America.

What was it like to fill the shoes of Stan Atkinson, a broadcasting legend at KCRA? 

Actually, Dave Walker and Lois Hart took over the 5 o'clock news, but I replaced Stan on the 6 o'clock show. It was bittersweet. Stan is a lovely man, we are good friends and still in touch today. It was such a tragedy with his son passing away unexpectedly, and when he left KCRA, it was tough to recalibrate. There was great sadness with him leaving, but it gave me an opportunity. I understand the one constant in TV is change. Then the Kellys eventually sold (the station), and I got to see how others embraced their transitions and knew I would soon follow.

The Brothers family at KCRA

Why did you decide to leave KCRA?

I had a great anchor gig on the No. 1 station in the fastest-growing market in the nation, but when the station was bought, I knew I would no longer have the opportunity to report in London or Argentina because the new owners had stations in other markets and they would send other talent.  We had three kids at the time and a fourth on the way, and I didn't want to be in position where a general manager could just axe you. When I was single or newly married, it didn't bother me because there wasn't so much at stake. The other factor was I had not eaten dinner at home in 12 years. When kids started school, I would pass them in the driveway, and only see them on weekends. I wanted to not only be able to attend all of their school events, but I also wanted to coach and so I did and still do today!  I also wanted to own equity in something, control my own destiny and yet still keep a toe in broadcasting, so now I have the best of both worlds as a partner in our financial services firm and a financial advisor on KCRA-TV and NewsTalk 1530 KFBK.

Tell us more about your financial advisory firm.

We are growing like a weed, as we now have $2.5 billion under management. And doing the financial news segments on KCRA and KFBK provides really great marketing for our company. It also allows me to still scratch my creative itch, and yet I don't need to be in the newsroom every day, which is great. I am passionate about improving financial literacy and try to incorporate that into all of my TV and radio segments. Everyone is living longer, so corporate America and the government is offloading retirement to individuals and we are woefully unprepared. The biggest mistakes people make are fear-based and that results in bad financial decisions. The more we can educate, the less fear will creep in during turbulent markets.

What do you do for fun?

Well, as a family of six, we have a lot of fun. We ride bikes, play golf and tennis, and travel. I'd say my vice is travel -- we have taken the kids to Ireland to meet their cousins, aunts and uncles. The kids' favorite vacation ever was our Ecuador mission trip, where we helped refurbish an orphanage. I have a very full life with four kids in three different Catholic schools, all with three different sets of hours. And, of course, we love keeping up with old friends!

What should people be surprised to know about you that they don't?

I have Irish citizenship and an Irish passport. But the biggest shocker is I don't balance my checkbook, and yet I manage people's money on a daily basis. I know exactly where I stand with my IRA and 401K at all times, but when it comes to my checking account, I just figure it in my mind and stay within $200 of the exact balance. There, I said it. That will horrify people.