George Bloom obit

George Bloom, Longtime Producer and Visual Effects Executive at CBS, Dies at 68

He also worked at Capitol Records, Fox and Disney and earned an Emmy nomination for his work on a ‘Stranger Things’ virtual reality experience.

 He was not on the list.

George Bloom, a former marketing executive at Fox and Disney who spent the past 22 years as a producer and visual effects leader at CBS, has died. He was 68.

Bloom suffered a heart attack and died Tuesday at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, California, Craig Weiss, his longtime colleague at CBS, announced.

He and his family lost their home in the Pacific Palisades fires, and he spent his last year dealing with that.

In 2017, Bloom received an Emmy nomination for outstanding creative achievement in interactive media within a scripted program (shared with Weiss and Jim Berndt) for Stranger Things VR, an interactive virtual reality experience.

His father was veteran comedy writer George Bloom Sr., whose credits included Dean Martin’s variety show and his celebrity roasts, The Hollywood Palace, The Julie Andrews Hour, Chico and the Man, Welcome Back, Kotter and several animated shows.

Born on Dec. 22, 1956, in Evanston, Illinois, George Jay Bloom III graduated from La Cañada High School and studied photography at Pepperdine University and Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. He started his career in 1985 at the newly formed video division at Capitol Records, where he was involved in making music videos for such bands as Duran Duran and The Cars.

In 1992, he founded Vision Mixer Films, which for a decade handled hundreds of campaigns and promotions for TV networks, including the annual Monday Night Football intros that featured Hank Williams Jr.

Bloom worked at Fox as a vice president from 2005-06 before spending nearly five years at Disney, for whom he wrote, produced and supervised original content for campaigns for movies including Toy Story 3, WALL-E, Tron, Alice in Wonderland, two Pirates of the Caribbean films and The Avengers.

He joined CBS in March 2013 and led business development and assisted with the implementation of a proprietary visual production platform called Parallax, with clients including Amazon, Marvel and Netflix. He also was involved with content, social media and immersive live entertainment.

In 2005, he sold a sci-fi screenplay to Miramax and more recently was a public speaker.

“George was a true renaissance man, teaching himself high-level astronomy, stock market trading, writing a novel and delving into artificial intelligence,” Weiss said. “He was also a keen sportsman, enjoying surfing, tennis and kiteboarding.”

Survivors include his wife, Jennifer; his children, Oliver and Carly; his mother, Suzanne; and his sisters, Alison, Laura and Eva. A celebration of his life is being planned.

Director

Stranger Things VR (2017)

Stranger Things VR

7.0

Video Game

executive creative director

2017

 

Leslie Nielsen on the Stooges

8.2

TV Special

Director

1999

 

Nicollette Sheridan, Caitlyn Jenner, and Dick Van Patten in Dirty Tennis (1989)

Dirty Tennis

2.4

Video

Director

1989

 

Buck Owens and Ringo Starr in Act Naturally (1989)

Act Naturally

Music Video

Director

1989

 

Restless Heart: A Tender Lie

Music Video

Director

1988

 

Brothers in Arms (1988)

Brothers in Arms

4.9

Director (as George Jay Bloom III)

1988

 

Def Leppard: Too Late for Love (Live Version)

Music Video

Director

1988

 

New Monkees (1987)

New Monkees

3.3

TV Series

Director

1987

1 episode

 

Restless Heart: Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)

Music Video

Director

1987

 

Walk the West: Lonely Boy

Music Video

Director

1986

 

Mel McDaniel: Stand Up (1985)

Mel McDaniel: Stand Up

Music Video

Director

1985

 

Ray Stevens: Santa Claus Is Watching You

Music Video

Director

1985

 

Ta Mara & The Seen: Affection

Music Video

Director

1985

 

Molly Hatchet: Satisfied Man

Music Video

Director

1984

 

Roger Taylor: Strange Frontier

Music Video

Director

1984

 

Second Unit or Assistant Director

New Monkees (1987)

New Monkees

3.3

TV Series

director: "What I Want" videodirector: "Burnin Desire" videodirector: "What I Want"

1987

4 episodes

 

Visual Effects

Faith: Pope John Paul II (2005)

Faith: Pope John Paul II

6.7

TV Mini Series

visual effects supervisor

2005

2 episodes

 

Producer

Stranger Things VR (2017)

Stranger Things VR

7.0

Video Game

producer

2017

 

Cinematographer

Buck Owens and Ringo Starr in Act Naturally (1989)

Act Naturally

Music Video

Cinematographer

1989