Obituary: Joseph Helfgot, Founder of MarketCast

Joseph Helfgot, the sociologist who founded movie market research firm MarketCast, has died at the age of 60, from complications following a heart transplant.

Helfgot set up MarketCast in 1985 to service the global entertainment industry. He sold the firm to Reed Business Information in 2000, and stayed on as President.

As the son of Auschwitz concentration camp survivors, Helfgot was raised in New York City. He received BA, MA and PhD degrees in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and taught social policy and research methodology at NYU as well as Boston University. During his career, he wrote three books and numerous articles on social policy, and also hosted a radio program in Boston.

Henry Shapiro, the General Manager of MarketCast commented: 'What I will remember about Joseph is the incredible passion he brought to what we do. He was so focused on our clients, on solving their marketing problems with smart research and insightful analysis. He did this with rigor, and always with humor. Joseph absolutely changed the face of entertainment marketing research, and his legacy and example live on in MarketCast today.'

He is survived by his wife, Susan Whitman, three sons and a daughter.

Donations may be made to Team">www.brighamandwomens.org/GlobalFiles/search.aspx?st=0&site=BWH_CI&qt=Team+Rwanda&submitButton.x=30&submitButton.y=6">Team Rwanda