Remembering Dan Parise

• In the midst of an already horrible year, here comes another gut-punch — Dan Parise, an Emmy- and Grammy-nominated television television and live-event producer whose vast expertise was used extensively over the years at numerous iHeartMedia events, including the massive iHeartRadio Music Festival, the iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party, iHeartRadio Country Festival, and the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, died Monday after suffering cardiac arrest. He was only 60 years old.

In a joint statement to RAMP, iHeartMedia’s John Sykes and Tom Poleman said, “We are shocked and devastated by the loss of Dan. He was part of our iHeart family from day one and helped us build an events business that is second to none. Dan made us all look good. He will be greatly missed by artists, management and the stage crews he loved to work with.  We, along with the entire iHeartMedia team, send our deepest sympathy to his family.”

According to Variety, Parise was nominated for Grammy for “Best Music Film” and an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Special Class” for his work as producer on the Beyonce & Jay-Z: On the Run concert film. He also received an Emmy nomination for 12-12-12: A Concert for [Hurricane] Sandy Relief. Parise also produced or worked extensively on large events like the Global Citizen Festival, the Made in America Festival and Super Bowl Halftime performances. During his years with Live Nation as Director of Production, Parise created the Special Events division, which produced events like the two-day Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concerts, A Concert for Hurricane Katrina Relief and 2001’s post 9-11 Concert for New York City. That special events division later evolved into Parise’s own company, Diversified Production Services.

Over the years, Parise also worked on Live Earth, Tidal X, Garth Brooks at Yankee Stadium, the NBA All-Star Halftime Show, the NFL/VH1 Concert Series and tours with Guns ‘N Roses, Luke Bryan, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Demi Lovato & Nick Jonas, among others.

In a touching Instagram post, Elvis Duran said of Parise, “Dan always looked out for all of us, making sure our events were bigger than life and perfectly executed every single time. I’ll never forget all the times he took off his headset and gave me an encouraging backstage hug before they pushed me out into the stage lights, then he proceeded to direct the massive crew to make me look and sound better than I deserved. Thank you, Dan, for always watching over us, as I know you always will.”