Dianne Crittenden dead at 92: Casting Director on Star Wars and Pretty Woman has passed away

Casting Director Dianne Crittenden, best known for her work on Star Wars and Pretty Woman, has died at the age of 92. According to her friend and fellow casting director Ilene Starger, Dianne passed away in Pacific Palisades in California.

Ilene Starger told The Hollywood Reporter that “Dianne was my mentor, we’ve known each other for 44 years. She was also my dear friend, more like an older sister, really. So generous, kind, brilliant, funny. A people magnet. Her knowledge of and insight into actors was extraordinary.”

Dianne Crittenden was born on 6 August 1941 in New York and started her career as a school teacher. She studied at Baldwin High School and Hofstra University and worked as a lifeguard during the summer holidays. 

Dianne Crittenden’s father Herbert worked a roofing contractor whilst her mother Sylvia was a housewife.  Dianne’s career in film and television began when she joined forces with photographer and director Howard Zieff and the pair worked together on films, commercials and advertising campaigns. 

Dianne Crittenden had a career spanning 40 years and is best known for her work on Star Wars: Episode 1V- A New Hope, Pretty Woman and Day of Heaven. Variety reported that “She worked with some of the industry’s most prominent directors, such as Ridley Scott, Peter Bogdanovich, Wes Craven, George Romero and Brian De Palma.”

Her casting credits also include Spiderman 2, The Thin Red Line, On Golden Pond, Witness and Badlands. Dianne’s TV credits include the 1976 miniseries Sybil as well as The New Dick Van Dyke Show. 

Dianne Crittenden’s husband George Drabek passed away last year, but she is survived by stepdaughter Jennifer Crittenden, siblings, Donald Derfner and Don Carter as well as sister-in-law Brenda Derfner and brother-in-law Chris Carter.