Don Siegel
Donald Siegel | |
---|---|
Nipomo , California, U.S. | |
Occupation(s) | Film and television director and producer |
Years active | 1939−1984 |
Spouses | Carol Rydall
(m. 1981) |
Children | 5, including Kristoffer Tabori |
Donald Siegel (/ˈsiːɡəl/ SEE-gəl; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film and television director and producer.
Siegel was described by The New York Times as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut plots centered on individualistic loners".[1] He directed the science-fiction horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), as well as five films with Clint Eastwood, including the police thriller Dirty Harry (1971) and the prison drama Escape from Alcatraz (1979). He also directed John Wayne's final film, the Western The Shootist (1976).
Early life
Siegel was born in 1912 to a Jewish family[2] in Chicago; his father was Samuel Siegel, a mandolin player.[3] Siegel attended schools in New York and later graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge in England. For a short time, he studied at Beaux Arts in Paris, but left at age 20 and later went to Los Angeles.[4]
Career
Siegel found work in the
Siegel directed whatever material came his way, often transcending the limitations of budget and script to produce interesting and adept works. He made the original
Siegel had a long collaboration with composer
Siegel was also important to the career of director
Cameos
Siegel had a small role as a bartender in Eastwood's Play Misty for Me, and in Dirty Harry. In Philip Kaufman's 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a remake of Siegel's 1956 film, he appears as a taxi driver. In Charley Varrick starring Walter Matthau (a film slated for Eastwood, but ultimately turned down by the actor), he has a cameo as a ping-pong player. He also appears in the 1985 John Landis film Into the Night. Siegel also has a small role in The Killers.
Personal life and death
Siegel and actress Viveca Lindfors were married from 1948 to 1953. They had a son, Kristoffer Tabori. Siegel married Doe Avedon in 1957. They adopted four children and then divorced in 1975. Siegel married Carol Rydall, a former secretary to Clint Eastwood. Siegel and Rydall remained together until he died at age 78 from cancer in Nipomo, California. Siegel is buried near Highway 1 in the coastal Cayucos-Morro Bay District Cemetery. He was reportedly an atheist.[11]
Filmography
- Now, Voyager (1942) (montage by)
- Across the Pacific (1942) (montage director)
- Casablanca (1942) (montage director)
- The Hard Way (1943) (montage director)
- Star in the Night (1945 short)
- Hitler Lives (1945 documentary short, uncredited)
- The Verdict (1946)
- Night Unto Night (1949)
- The Big Steal (1949)
- The Duel at Silver Creek (1952)
- No Time for Flowers (1952)
- Count the Hours (1953)
- China Venture (1953)
- Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
- Private Hell 36 (1954)
- The Blue and Gold(1955)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers(1956)
- Crime in the Streets (1956)
- Baby Face Nelson (1957)
- Spanish Affair (1957)
- The Gun Runners (1958)
- The Lineup (1958)
- Hound-Dog Man (1959)
- Edge of Eternity (1959) - Man at Motel Pool (uncredited)
- Flaming Star (1960)
- Hell Is for Heroes (1962)
- The Killers (1964)
- The Hanged Man (1964)
- Stranger on the Run (1967)
- Coogan's Bluff (1968)
- Madigan (1968)
- Death of a Gunfighter (credited as Alan Smithee) (1969)
- Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)
- The Beguiled (1971)
- Dirty Harry (1971)
- Charley Varrick (1973)
- The Black Windmill (1974)
- The Shootist (1976)
- Telefon (1977)
- Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
- Rough Cut (1980)
- Jinxed! (1982)
References
- ^ Flint, Peter B. (April 24, 1991). "Don Siegel, Whose Movies Herald Tough, Cynical Loners, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-253-20493-6.
- ^ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949". FamilySearch. Donald Siegel, 26 Oct 1912. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Munn, p. 75
- ^ Patterson, John (October 27, 2014). "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Don Siegel's fatalistic masterpiece". The Guardian. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ISBN 9780810881334. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Reported by the Los Angeles Times in 1982.
- ISBN 0-8021-3776-8.
- ISBN 0-8021-3776-8.
- ^ "Jinxed!". imdb.com. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ^ David Robinson, 'Don Siegel's stories', The Times, 1 May 1975; pg. 11; Issue 59384; col E.
Further reading
- Munn, Michael (1992). Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner. London: Robson Books. ISBN 0-86051-790-X.