Montana

Carol Goldwasser, ‘Hannah Montana’ and ‘Austin & Ally’ Casting Director, Dies at 67

Published

1 year ago

December 12, 2024

Carol Goldwasser, a casting director who found actors for such popular kids-focused TV shows as Hannah Montana, Austin & Ally, Dog With a Blog and Cousins for Life, has died. She was 67.

Goldwasser died unexpectedly Dec. 5 at her home in Palm Springs after minor surgery, her friend and manager, Theodore Gekis, announced.

Known for her signature “Hi, Doll!” greeting and for nurturing such talent as Zac Efron, Khary Payton and Alison Brie, Goldwasser handled castings in Los Angeles and New York for more than two decades.

“Carol was a wonderfully talented casting director and a delight to be in the same room with,” Marc Hirschfeld, former executive vp casting at NBC, said in a statement. “Always positive, enthusiastic and with an annoyingly sunny disposition. The world will be a little less sunny without her.”

Born on Aug. 3, 1957, in Freeport, New York, Goldwasser excelled as a piano student as a youngster, graduating as salutatorian from East Meadow High School in 1975.

Earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance and education, summa cum laude, from the University at Buffalo, she originally intended to teach music but soon realized that the entertainment industry was for her.

Goldwasser began at Breakdown Services but launched her casting career as an assistant to Stuart Howard in New York City. In 1991, she ventured out to Los Angeles with no job but quickly became a casting associate for Fox’s Melrose Place and for the 1993 pilot of ABC’s My So-Called Life.

From 1994-96, she was manager of casting at Disney/Touchstone Television, where she supervised casting of all Disney/Touchstone pilots, series and movies of the week, then was director of casting for Disney/Touchstone Television in New York from 1996-98.

After working on such shows as UPN’s The Hughleys and NBC’s Inside Schwartz, Goldwasser used her expertise to help shape the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana (2006-11), Austin & Ally (2011-16) and Dog With a Blog (2012-15) and Nickelodeon’s Cousins for Life (2018-19), which she cast with former partner Howard Meltzer.

She thrived as an independent casting director for more than a decade until her retirement to Palm Springs in 2019.

Goldwasser, who served as chairperson of the diversity committee for the Casting Society of America, received two CSA Artios Awards off 11 nominations as well as a nom for television casting director of the year from the Heller Awards during her career.

Survivors include her sister, Diana; her brother-in-law, Philip; and her beloved kitty, Nala. A celebration of her life will be held in January, with details to be announced.

“After Carol’s long and successful career in casting, I was excited for her to forge a new path and find deep happiness in her retirement. She was thriving,” her friend Ann Maney said in a statement. “I will miss my dear friend. Goodbye, Doll!”

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Montana

The ugly truth behind ‘restoring Montana values’ • Daily Montanan

Published

1 hour ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Restoring Montana values.

When you hear that term, your ears should perk up. This phrase isn’t folksy nostalgia; it’s shorthand for something else. It’s Republican code. It’s an old trick. Take one of grandpa’s old slogans and use it to mean something else. Usually something vile. Something about 50 or 100 years past its sell-by date.

Republicans like to talk about restoring “Montana values.” It’s like they are promising to bring back nickel candy. They aren’t. It sounds harmless, even virtuous. Let’s be clear: It isn’t.

So, what does “Restoring Montana Values” mean today in Republican speak? It means a never-ending stream of unconstitutional laws intended to deny certain groups of Montana citizens their constitutional rights. But, they won’t say that out loud. These laws are consistently unconstitutional. And, here’s the subterfuge – Republicans blame our nonpartisan judges. Not the legislature. Not the governor. Not the unconstitutional laws. Just the judges.

Republicans continue to adopt laws that violate basic freedoms under our Constitution. There is a pattern. Our courts find these bills to be unconstitutional. So, Republicans claim that the problem is woke, out-of-control, radical, liberal judges. (Whew! It’s hard to fit all that outrage into one sentence.) They blame all of the world’s problems on the judicial branch. What Republicans are doing is making “Montana Values” a campaign slogan for something sinister. It’s an attack on the independence of our judicial branch.

Republicans have a “solution.” Restore “Montana Values” by getting rid of our nonpartisan judges. Make judicial elections red team vs. blue team. Not more justice. Just more bad politics.

To be clear – when the legislature knowingly passes bills that violate the Constitution, and our judges find them unconstitutional – that has nothing to do with politics. That is the role of judges. It’s called judicial review. It dates back to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1803 in Marbury vs. Madison.

Republicans have gone so far as to attack Chief Justice John Marshall (and the unanimous court). They claim that the Supreme Court got it wrong. Courts do not have the power to find legislative actions unconstitutional. They are trying to erase 223 years of legal precedent.

State Sen. Tom McGillvary from Billings is a high priest in the “Blame the Woke Judges Order.” He has lectured on why the Supreme Court got it wrong in Marbury vs. Madison. I am sure that McGillvary prayed about it, but it might have helped if he had gone to law school and actually studied the Constitution. Bold. Or, just dishonest. You get to decide.

Republicans’ attack on judicial review just doesn’t ring true. It’s like proclaiming that the person with the fewest points is the winner of the Scrabble game. You can smell that argument; it isn’t perfume.

Blaming judges for doing their jobs. That is the antithesis of Montana values.

The real issue is why Republicans want to deny people their constitutional rights. Could there be anything more inconsistent with Montana values than that? Our Constitution is the foundation of our law. It is the social contract between the people of our great state. Our Constitution isn’t just the law; it’s how we treat each other; how we value every person; and how we respect the rights of all people. Violating our Constitution is totally inconsistent with Montana Values.

Montana has a libertarian streak. Independence is a good thing. You don’t have to agree with me or even like me for us to get along and be good neighbors. People get to believe what they believe and pretty much do what they want, so long as they don’t hurt someone. But, there is a line. You can’t deny people their Constitutional rights. That is over the line.

If Republicans want to restore Montana values: Easy. All they have to do is honor and follow the Montana Constitution.

In 1972, 100 Montana citizens crafted our Constitution. Delegates sat in alphabetical order, not by party. Pragmatism bent party loyalty to build a consensus. It’s not a Republican constitution or a Democratic constitution. It isn’t woke or fascist. It’s ours. Eighty-nine out of 100 delegates approved. Montana citizens –not Republicans; not Democrats. Montanans.

And then, in June of 1972, Montana citizens voted to approve the new Constitution. It holds our values.

Republicans want to deny some Montana citizens their Constitutional rights.

Well? That’s not Montana values.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for April 11, 2026

Published

13 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 11, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from April 11 drawing

06-47-49-53-60, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from April 11 drawing

01-21-26-29-32, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 03

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from April 11 drawing

05-06-07-30, Bonus: 04

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from April 11 drawing

18-20-26-37-39

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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