Editing Don Siegel

{{Short description|American film director (1912–1991)}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Donald Siegel
| image        = DonSiegel.jpg
| caption      = Siegel in 1968
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1912|10|26}}
| birth_place  = [[Chicago]], Illinois, U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1991|04|20|1912|10|26|mf=y}}
| death_place  = [[Nipomo]], California, U.S.
| occupation   = Film director, producer
| years active = 1939−1984
| networth     =
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Viveca Lindfors]]|1948|1953|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Doe Avedon]]|1957|1975|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Carol Rydall<br>|1981}}
}}
| children     = 5, including [[Kristoffer Tabori]]
}}
'''Donald Siegel''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|iː|g|əl}} {{respell|SEE|gəl}}; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film 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".<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/24/obituaries/don-siegel-whose-movies-herald-tough-cynical-loners-dies-at-78.html | title= Don Siegel, Whose Movies Herald Tough, Cynical Loners, Dies at 78 | work=[[The New York Times]] | first=Peter B. | last=Flint | date=24 April 1991 | access-date=20 June 2020}}</ref> He directed the [[Science fiction film|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 (film)|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<ref>{{cite book |last=Erens |first=Patricia |title= [[The Jew in American Cinema]] |isbn=978-0-253-20493-6 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |date=August 1988|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-v2Di_5ShGMC&q=don%20siegel&pg=PA392 392]}}</ref> in Chicago; his father was [[Samuel Siegel]], a mandolin player.<ref>{{cite web |title=Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDZ-9NL2 |website=FamilySearch |publisher=Donald Siegel, 26 Oct 1912. |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref> Siegel attended schools in New York and later graduated from [[Jesus College, Cambridge]] in England. For a short time, he studied at [[Beaux-Arts de Paris|Beaux Arts in Paris]], but left at age 20 and later went to Los Angeles.<ref name="Munn75">Munn, p. 75</ref>

==Career==
Siegel found work in the [[Warner Bros.]] film library after meeting producer [[Hal Wallis]],<ref name="Munn75"/> and later rose to head of the montage department, where he directed thousands of [[montage sequence|montages]], including the opening montage for ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]''. In 1945, two shorts he directed, ''[[Star in the Night]]'' and ''[[Hitler Lives]]'', won [[Academy Award]]s, which launched his career as a feature director.

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 ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]'' (1956), described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2014 as a "fatalistic masterpiece" and "a touchstone for the sci-fi genre" which spawned three remakes.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/27/invasion-of-the-bodysnatchers-1956 | title= Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Don Siegel's fatalistic masterpiece | work=[[The Guardian]] | first=John | last=Patterson | date=27 October 2014 | access-date=20 June 2020}}</ref> For television, he directed two episodes of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'', "[[Uncle Simon]]" (1963) and "[[The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross]]" (1964), and was the producer of ''[[The Legend of Jesse James (TV series)|The Legend of Jesse James]]'' (1965).<ref>{{cite book | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TrIspiOaqboC&q=don+siegel+legend+of+jesse+james&pg=PA75 | title= Television Westerns: Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags, and Sidewinders | author= Alvin H. Marill | date= June 2011 | publisher= Scarecrow Press | isbn= 9780810881334 | access-date=20 June 2020}}</ref> He worked with [[Eli Wallach]] in ''[[The Lineup (film)|The Lineup]]'', [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Dolores del Río]] in ''[[Flaming Star]]'' (1960), with [[Steve McQueen (actor)|Steve McQueen]] in ''[[Hell Is for Heroes (film)|Hell Is for Heroes]]'', and [[Lee Marvin]] in the influential ''[[The Killers (1964 film)|The Killers]]'' (1964) before directing five of Eastwood's films that were commercially successful in addition to being well received by critics. These included the action films ''[[Coogan's Bluff (film)|Coogan's Bluff]]'' and ''[[Dirty Harry]]'', the [[Albert Maltz]]-scripted Western ''[[Two Mules for Sister Sara]]'', the [[American Civil War]] melodrama ''[[The Beguiled (1971 film)|The Beguiled]]'', and the prison-break picture ''[[Escape from Alcatraz (film)|Escape from Alcatraz]]''. He was a considerable influence on Eastwood's own career as a director, and Eastwood's film ''[[Unforgiven]]'' is dedicated "for Don and [[Sergio Leone|Sergio]]".

Siegel had a long collaboration with composer [[Lalo Schifrin]], who scored five of his films: ''Coogan's Bluff'', ''The Beguiled'', ''Dirty Harry'', ''[[Charley Varrick]]'', and ''[[Telefon (film)|Telefon]]''. Schifrin composed and recorded what would have been his sixth score for Siegel on ''[[Jinxed!]]'' (1982), but it was rejected by the studio despite Siegel's objections. This conflict was one of several fights Siegel had on his last film.<ref>''Reported by the [[Los Angeles Times]] in 1982.''</ref>

Siegel was also important to the career of director [[Sam Peckinpah]]. In 1954, Peckinpah was hired as a dialogue coach for ''[[Riot in Cell Block 11]]''. His job entailed acting as an assistant to the director, Siegel. The film was shot on location at [[Folsom Prison]]. Siegel's location work and his use of actual prisoners as extras in the film made a lasting impression on Peckinpah. He worked as a dialogue coach on four additional Siegel films: ''[[Private Hell 36]]'' (1954), ''[[An Annapolis Story]]'' (1955), ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1956), and ''[[Crime in the Streets]]'' (1956).<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=116–119 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8}}</ref> Twenty-five years later, Peckinpah was all but banished from the industry due to his troubled film productions. Siegel gave the director a chance to return to filmmaking. He asked Peckinpah if he would be interested in directing 12 days of [[second unit]] on Siegel's ''Jinxed!'' film. Peckinpah immediately accepted, and his earnest collaboration with his longtime friend was noted within the industry. While Peckinpah's work was uncredited, it led to his hiring as the director of his final film ''[[The Osterman Weekend (film)|The Osterman Weekend]]'' (1983).<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=534–535 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=''Jinxed!'' |work=imdb.com |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084173/trivia |access-date=March 6, 2012}}</ref>

==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 (1978 film)|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 (1985 film)|Into the Night]].'' Siegel also has a small role in ''[[The Killers (1964 film)|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 an atheist.<ref>David Robinson, 'Don Siegel's stories', ''The Times'', 1 May 1975; pg. 11; Issue 59384; col E.</ref>

== Filmography ==
{{Div col}}
*''[[Now, Voyager]]'' (1942) (montage by)
*''[[Across the Pacific]]'' (1942) (montage director)
*''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' (1942) (montage director)
*''[[The Hard Way (1943 film)|The Hard Way]]'' (1943) (montage director)
*''[[Star in the Night]]'' (1945 short)
*''[[Hitler Lives]]'' (1945 documentary short, uncredited)
*''[[The Verdict (1946 film)|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 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]'' (1956)
*''[[Crime in the Streets]]'' (1956)
*''[[Baby Face Nelson (film)|Baby Face Nelson]]'' (1957)
*''[[Spanish Affair (1957 film)|Spanish Affair]]'' (1957)
*''[[The Gun Runners]]'' (1958)
*''[[The Lineup (film)|The Lineup]]'' (1958)
*''[[Hound-Dog Man]]'' (1959)
*''[[Edge of Eternity (film)|Edge of Eternity]]'' (1959) - Man at Motel Pool (uncredited)
*''[[Flaming Star]]'' (1960)
*''[[Hell Is for Heroes (film)|Hell Is for Heroes]]'' (1962)
*''[[The Killers (1964 film)|The Killers]]'' (1964)
*''[[The Hanged Man (1964 film)|The Hanged Man]]'' (1964)
*''[[Stranger on the Run]]'' (1967)
*''[[Coogan's Bluff (film)|Coogan's Bluff]]'' (1968)
*''[[Madigan]]'' (1968)
*''[[Death of a Gunfighter]]'' (credited as [[Alan Smithee]]) (1969)
*''[[Two Mules for Sister Sara]]'' (1970)
*''[[The Beguiled (1971 film)|The Beguiled]]'' (1971)
*''[[Dirty Harry]]'' (1971)
*''[[Charley Varrick]]'' (1973)
*''[[The Black Windmill]]'' (1974)
*''[[The Shootist]]'' (1976)
*''[[Telefon (film)|Telefon]]'' (1977)
*''[[Escape from Alcatraz (film)|Escape from Alcatraz]]'' (1979)
*''[[Rough Cut (1980 film)|Rough Cut]]'' (1980)
*''[[Jinxed! (1982 film)|Jinxed!]]'' (1982)
{{Div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Munn|first=Michael|title=Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner|publisher=Robson Books|location=London|year=1992|isbn=0-86051-790-X}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{IMDb name|796923}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101013004619/http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/04/siegel.html Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database]
*[http://hollywoodgothique.bravejournal.com/entry/13111 An Academy Salute to Don Siegel, With Curtis Hanson and Clint Eastwood]

{{Don Siegel}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegel, Don}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:American action film directors]]
[[Category:Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:American atheists]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Chicago]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:Film directors from Illinois]]
[[Category:Film producers from Illinois]]
[[Category:Jewish American atheists]]
[[Category:Jewish American film people]]
[[Category:Western (genre) film directors]]