Don Safran

1930 - 2014

Safran, Don Born January 17, 1930 in Brooklyn, NY, passed away peacefully on February 17, 2014 in Dallas, TX. Upon his discharge from the US Marines, he studied journalism at Arizona State and Mexico City College. His newspaper career began with the Lamesa Daily Reporter, then to The Dallas Times Herald as nightclub reporter, movie critic and eventually as Arts and Entertainment editor. He co-founded what is now the USA Film Festival, and introduced the restaurant guide as a newspaper feature. His love of movies and writing took him to Los Angeles. As EVP of Marketing at Rastar Productions, he worked on Steel Magnolias, Annie , Blue Thunder, and Richard Pryor - Live on the Sunset Strip. Television credits include Executive Producer of The Goodbye Girl for TNT, Target Earth for ABC, Alley Cats for Disney, Blue Thunder and writing an episode of Happy Days. His later years focused on writing novels and short stories, including the thriller The Tenth Day. He continued to create stories every day. In 2005, Don moved to Olympia, WA with his much-loved wife Jill, who sadly passed away on July 4, 2013. His choice to move back to Dallas was good news to his daughters. His dry sense of humor coupled with being close to his family, raised his spirits, as he started moving on with the next chapter in his life. Don is survived by his daughters Stephanie, Dona and Vicky, two sisters and several nieces and nephews. Visit his memorial page at www.carrillofuneralhomes.com or Facebook. A memorial tribute is pending.