David Pregerson, with his sense of humor and welcoming nature, had the ability to light up a room.
“When you got to know him, you saw that he (had) a big heart,” said Elliot Schwartz, a UCLA alumnus and a close friend of Pregerson’s. “He made people feel like they had a place in his world.”
Pregerson, a UCLA alumnus and filmmaker, died Dec. 31 after being struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run on Chautauqua Boulevard in Pacific Palisades. He was 23.
A budding writer, director and producer, Pregerson graduated from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television in 2013.
Despite his young age, Pregerson had already worked on numerous films, and was known for his creative ability to weave together humorous, yet thought-provoking stories.
While Pregerson was passionate about working behind the scenes on films, friends knew him off-set as someone who took center stage wherever he went.
Chelsea Mayer, a UCLA alumna and close friend of Pregerson’s, said that while at a karaoke bar, Pregerson unabashedly sang “Build Me Up Buttercup” to serenade a girl he was interested in.
Pregerson was also known for his selflessness and unwavering loyalty.
Avi Oved, internal vice president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, said Pregerson filmed his campaign video when he ran for internal vice president.
Oved added that Pregerson toiled for hours editing the video.
“It was something that I could never forget, because to me, it meant the world, and it was done out of the goodness of his heart,” Oved said.
Pregerson was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi from 2008-2013 and served as the fraternity’s internal social chair in 2009, said Graham Wetterhahn, a fifth-year communication studies and political science student and a close friend of Pregerson’s.
As his fraternity brother and former roommate, Wetterhahn said he saw how Pregerson would use his creativity to create art even out of seemingly mundane objects.
“He would take (painter’s tape) and make these really elaborate designs and murals on our walls,” Wetterhahn said. “One of them was the window to the zombie apocalypse.”
A lover of the supernatural, Pregerson had a knack for writing scripts about otherworldly plots.
“He constantly wrote stories that had great character development,” said Sahil Seth, a UCLA alumnus and Pregerson’s close friend. “There were hidden little facets of what makes a character likeable and relateable and (Pregerson) brought (these characters) to life.”
Pregerson had recently served as a producer in 2013 on a reality-based documentary called “A Journey to Planet Sanity.” The plot chronicles a filmmaker who takes an elderly deliveryman, who believes in aliens, around the country in an attempt to debunk his beliefs. Alien themes recurred in Pregerson’s own directorial work.
For his thesis film, Pregerson wrote a script about a young man who discovers that his body has been taken over by an alien, Mayer said.
Even while he worked on set, Pregerson’s kind demeanor and friendliness never waned.
“Working on your thesis film can be an incredibly stressful experience for a film student, but he was so calm,” Mayer said. “He just wanted to make sure that everyone was having a good time while making it.”
Pregerson’s cheerfulness and infectious personality was apparent even during unexpected moments.
While working as a second assistant director for a film called “The Timing of Love” in 2011, Pregerson was stuck in a traffic jam after leaving set to buy Sour Skittles for one of his signature drinks, said Alexandra Cuerdo, a UCLA alumna and Pregerson’s close friend.
Cuerdo said Pregerson left the car and started making friends “with every driver in Hollywood.”
“(Pregerson) could find the uniqueness, beauty and joy in literally everything,” Wetterhahn said.
Pregerson is survived by his parents, Dean and Sharon Pregerson, and his older brother Bradley Pregerson.
A memorial service was held for Pregerson at Wilshire Boulevard Temple.