Arthur Allan Seidelman

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Arthur Allan Seidelman (born 1937 in New York City[1]) is an American television, film, and theatre director and an occasional writer, producer, and actor. His works are distinguished by a humane, probing, and sympathetic depiction of characters facing ethical challenges. His approach to directing is guided by his belief that character and relationships, along with an emphasis on genuine emotion over intellectualization, are the keys to unlocking the dramatic potential of a performance, a play, or a screenplay.

Early life and career

Born in

UCLA. He subsequently studied with Group Theatre (New York City) co-founder Sanford Meisner, who became a lifelong friend and mentor. Seidelman credits Meisner with teaching him how to approach actors and to find the cord of inner realism that ignites a scene. Seidelman also studied with Group Theatre co-founder Harold Clurman
.

Awake and Sing as an "astonishingly fresh and deeply moving evening" and wrote also that it was "directed and played as nakedly as though no one were watching."[3]

Film

Seidelman made his screen directorial debut with

Arab-Israeli conflict, and also starring Simon Ward and Cyril Cusack. The film was the first Hollywood feature to address issues on both sides of the conflict, and it was screened for major international bodies including the United Nations General Assembly and the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Seidelman also directed The Caller, a science fiction thriller shot at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, starring Malcolm McDowell and Madolyn Smith and the 2007 film Black Friday (also known as The Kidnapping).[4]

Seidelman's film The Sisters (2005 film), a modern adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters (play), stars Maria Bello, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Tony Goldwyn, and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival (now known as the Tribeca Festival). The film won numerous awards including the Santa Fe Film Festival Milagro Award for Best American Independent Film.

He also directed

Walking Across Egypt with Ellen Burstyn, Echoes, a reincarnation thriller, and Puerto Vallarta Squeeze, starring Scott Glenn and Harvey Keitel in a film adaptation by Richard Alfieri of the novel by Robert James Waller. Seidelman's most recent feature film Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks stars Gena Rowlands as the widow of a Southern Baptist minister and Cheyenne Jackson as her gay dance instructor, and also stars Jacki Weaver and Rita Moreno.[5]

Television

Seidelman has directed many award-winning television productions, including

Dickens-era sets erected on the back lot of Mafilm Studios
, has become a holiday classic.

He directed four highly acclaimed

bulimia
, remains one of the most watched made-for-television films in TV history.

Seidelman cut his teeth in television by directing episodes of many renowned series including

Writers Guild of America Award for his contribution to I Love Liberty
.

Seidelman also guest starred in the final episode of

ER
.

Theatre

Seidelman directed

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and as Artistic Director of Theatre Vanguard in Los Angeles
.

He has directed

Revolutions, at the Barter Theatre
.

Awards

Seidelman's honors include two

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, three Christopher Awards
, and the 2023 Sharm El-Sheikh Samiha Ayoub Award for Contribution to Understanding between Nations and Peoples.

Personal life

Seidelman was stricken with polio at age 9, and, as he was being rushed to the hospital, he overheard a paramedic tell his parents that he would never walk again. Undaunted and determined, after spending months in an iron lung and undergoing years of physical therapy, he did regain his mobility. He later stated that battling polio prepared him for the challenges of a career in show business.

Burt Reynolds, after working with Seidelman on the NBC TV series Amazing Grace, said of him, "He's the only director I've worked with in years who knows what to say to an actor other than, 'Turn right at the couch.'"

While researching the film

refugee camps in Lebanon, where at one point, he was taken hostage by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[citation needed
] After days in captivity, during which he convinced them that the project would present a balanced view of the Arab/Israeli conflict, Seidelman was released.

References

  1. ^ "Arthur Allan Seidelman | Yiddish Book Center".
  2. ^ Arthur Allan Seidelman at FilmReference.com
  3. ^ The New York Times, June 7, 1970, Section 2, Page 1 "35 Years Later, It Still Sings"
  4. ^ "The Kidnapping". IMDb. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  5. ^ Chang, Justin (16 December 2014). "Film Review: 'Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks'". Variety. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  6. ^ a b Gans, Andrew (21 November 2003). "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks to Close Nov. 23". Playbill. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  7. ^ a b Oxman, Steven (10 June 2001). "Review: 'Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks'". Variety. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  8. ^ Billington, Michael (2 December 2006). "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  9. ^ Jones, Kenneth (27 June 2003). "Rue McClanahan Bows Out of Bway's Six Dance Lessons; Hamill Ready to Dance". Playbill. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  10. ^ Stoudt, Charlotte (5 November 2008). "'Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 September 2016.

External links

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