Born in Szilágysomlyó, Austria-Hungary (now Şimleu Silvaniei, Romania), Pasternak was a successful film producer in Germany and Austria by the time he was twenty-eight years old. Following the rise of the Nazi party to power, the Jewish Pasternak emigrated to the United States in 1934 bringing with him a wealth of experience while still a very young man.

Hired by Universal Pictures, in 1936 he produced his first picture in the USA with the then fourteen-year-old Canadian singer Deanna Durbin making her debut in film. Pasternak proved to be a real asset for the studio, generating a number of highly successful films during the tough times of the Great Depression.

His career as a film producer spanned forty years and earned him two Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations. He retired in 1968, having produced more than ninety feature-length films as well as three Academy Award shows. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Joe Pasternak has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1541 N. Vine Street.

He was also an enthusiastic amateur chef, and he wrote a book Cooking with Love and Paprika (published 1966).

Pasternak is the father of Michael Joseph Pasternak, the 1960's Radio Disk jockey known as Emperor Rosko. His other son, Jeff Pasternak is a playwright and songwriter.

Joe Pasternak died from Parkinson's disease only a few days shy of his 90th birthday. He is interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.