Janet Berger Dead: Casting Director Was 87

Janet Nelson Berger, who began her career as a secretary at CBS in the mid-1950s before rising to become a production assistant and casting director in an era when few women held managerial roles in network television, has died. She was 87.

Berger died July 22 at her home in Los Angeles of pneumonia and complications from a stroke, her husband, Emmy-winning producer Robert “Buzz” Berger, said.

Janet Berger worked often for producer Herbert Brodkin, first at CBS and later at his independent company, Plautus Productions.

Janet Nelson Berger, who began her career as a secretary at CBS in the mid-1950s before rising to become a production assistant and casting director in an era when few women held managerial roles in network television, has died. She was 87.

Berger died July 22 at her hom