Carol Goldwasser, ‘Hannah Montana’ and ‘Austin & Ally’ Casting Director, Dies at 67
Carol Goldwasser, a casting director who found actors for such popular kids-focused TV shows as Hannah Montana, Austin & Ally, Dog With a Blog and Cousins for Life, has died. She was 67.
Goldwasser died unexpectedly Dec. 5 at her home in Palm Springs after minor surgery, her friend and manager, Theodore Gekis, announced.
Known for her signature “Hi, Doll!” greeting and for nurturing such talent as Zac Efron, Khary Payton and Alison Brie, Goldwasser handled castings in Los Angeles and New York for more than two decades.
“Carol was a wonderfully talented casting director and a delight to be in the same room with,” Marc Hirschfeld, former executive vp casting at NBC, said in a statement. “Always positive, enthusiastic and with an annoyingly sunny disposition. The world will be a little less sunny without her.”
Born on Aug. 3, 1957, in Freeport, New York, Goldwasser excelled as a piano student as a youngster, graduating as salutatorian from East Meadow High School in 1975.
Earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance and education, summa cum laude, from the University at Buffalo, she originally intended to teach music but soon realized that the entertainment industry was for her.
Goldwasser began at Breakdown Services but launched her casting career as an assistant to Stuart Howard in New York City. In 1991, she ventured out to Los Angeles with no job but quickly became a casting associate for Fox’s Melrose Place and for the 1993 pilot of ABC’s My So-Called Life.
From 1994-96, she was manager of casting at Disney/Touchstone Television, where she supervised casting of all Disney/Touchstone pilots, series and movies of the week, then was director of casting for Disney/Touchstone Television in New York from 1996-98.
After working on such shows as UPN’s The Hughleys and NBC’s Inside Schwartz, Goldwasser used her expertise to help shape the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana (2006-11), Austin & Ally (2011-16) and Dog With a Blog (2012-15) and Nickelodeon’s Cousins for Life (2018-19), which she cast with former partner Howard Meltzer.
She thrived as an independent casting director for more than a decade until her retirement to Palm Springs in 2019.
Goldwasser, who served as chairperson of the diversity committee for the Casting Society of America, received two CSA Artios Awards off 11 nominations as well as a nom for television casting director of the year from the Heller Awards during her career.
Survivors include her sister, Diana; her brother-in-law, Philip; and her beloved kitty, Nala. A celebration of her life will be held in January, with details to be announced.
“After Carol’s long and successful career in casting, I was excited for her to forge a new path and find deep happiness in her retirement. She was thriving,” her friend Ann Maney said in a statement. “I will miss my dear friend. Goodbye, Doll!”
