Fred Gallo obit

Fred Gallo, Lauded Assistant Director Turned Paramount Production President, Dies at 78

A "singular force in the industry," he worked on such acclaimed films as 'Where's Poppa?,' 'The Godfather,' 'Rocky,' 'Annie Hall' and 'Body Heat' before joining the studio in 1993. 

He was not on the list.

Fred Gallo, who served as an assistant director on films including the Oscar best picture winners The Godfather, Rocky and Annie Hall before becoming a top production executive at Paramount Pictures, has died. He was 78.

Gallo died Sept. 7 at his home in the Santa Ynez Valley, his family announced.

Gallo also earned producing credits on Floyd Mutrux’s American Hot Wax (1978), Martin Brest’s Going in Style (1979), James Caan’s Hide in Plain Sight (1980) and Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat (1981).

After a run as a production executive at Warner Bros., Gallo joined Paramount in 1993. He was promoted to executive vp feature production management in 1996 and worldwide president of features production management in 2001, overseeing day-to-day physical production for the studio through his retirement in 2005.

“Fred was a singular force in the industry,” Lee Rosenthal, president of worldwide physical production for Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, said in a statement. “Beneath a formidable exterior was a big-hearted, one-man masterclass in filmmaking and production management.

“Some of the most iconic movies of our time — The Godfather, Rocky and Annie Hall, to name a few — are imprinted with Fred’s artistry. He was a vestige of a time and place in Hollywood history, an early champion of inclusivity and a mentor to many. While he will be greatly missed, his legacy lives on through the many lives he touched and executives and filmmakers upon whom he bestowed his gifts. There will never be another Fred.”

Fred Thomas Gallo was born in Queens on Nov. 8, 1944. Early in his career, he was a production assistant on Sidney Lumet’s The Group (1966), a production manager on Alex March’s Paper Lion (1968) and Carl Reiner’s Where’s Poppa? (1970), a production supervisor on Mel Brooks’ The Twelve Chairs (1970) and an assistant director on William Friedkin’s The Boys in the Band (1970).

He began his association with Woody Allen as a unit manager on Take the Money and Run (1969) and went on to collaborate with the director as an A.D. on Bananas (1971), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Sleeper (1973) and Annie Hall (1977) and as an associate producer on Love and Death (1975).

As a member of the directing teams on Annie Hall, The Godfather (1972) and Rocky (1976), he shared DGA awards for outstanding directorial achievement in motion pictures with Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and John G. Avildsen, respectively.

Zack Schor portrayed Gallo on the 2022 Paramount+ miniseries The Offer, about the making of The Godfather.

A big fan of polo who retired to his ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, Gallo was a member of the Saddle and Sirloin Club in Los Angeles and a member of the Los Borrachos Camp of the Rancheros Visitadores up north. He was riding and team roping until a few years ago, his family said.

Survivors include his wife, Joan; children Kirstin and Toby; son-in-law Gene; and grandchildren Delilah, Madison and Bella. Donations in his memory may be made to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.