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Joseph “Joe” Dea, a music video director, reality TV director and four-time Emmy winner, died Sunday of glioblastoma in Alameda, Calif. He was 71.
Always an early adopter of cutting-edge visual technology, Dea’s fascination with the blend of painting and cinematic technique began at the University of Hartford’s Hartford Art School. His first forays into video art in the late 1970s were exhibited at New York’s Whitney Museum, The Kitchen and Global Village; later he joined San Francisco’s video collective, The Optic Nerve.
While in San Francisco, he became a founding member of Videowest, the groundbreaking comedy, music video and alternative news production company. Dea was an integral contributor to Videowest, creating segments for magazine shows like USA’s “TakeOFF” and ABC’s “Backstage Pass,” to OnTV’s “Rock ONTV” and segments for MTV’s music news.
He conceptualized, designed and directed more than 30 music videos, five of which are included in Rolling Stone Magazine’s All-Time Top 100 Videos. Greg Kihn’s “Jeopardy” and “Happy Man” are on the list along with Krokus’ “Screaming in the Night,” the first heavy metal video to air in prominent rotation on MTV. His 1980 video, the Emmy-winning, “Two Triple Cheese, Side Order of Fries” for Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, with its visual effects of dancing French fries and flying cheeseburgers cut to energetic rock and roll, earned the video a spot in Rolling Stone Magazine’s Music Video Hall of Fame and a place in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
In the late 1980s, Dea moved to Los Angeles, where he directed multiple network, cable and syndicated TV episodes in genres such as documentary, reality, stunts, live music, animation, plus historic and crime dramatic re-creations. His credits on prime-time network specials for NBC and Fox include: “Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects” and “The World’s Greatest Stunts.”
He was the senior director of TLC’s long-running hit, “A Wedding Story.” Dea also appeared on-screen, co-hosting the History Channel’s “What Went Down,” and served as background talent on “The Young and the Restless.” His work was featured at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art and the Museum of Neon Art.
Dea is survived by his wife Melissa Force, stepdaughter Tamara Miller; stepson Dylan Miller and six step-grandchildren; and sisters Elaine Dea and Maureen Dea.
Donations may be made to UCSF Foundation, P.O. Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145 in memory of Joseph C. Dea (7001220).
